Aspects of the Abu Dhabi Sabkha

Kirkham, Anthony; Evans, Graham

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04417-6_3

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Sabkhas (Arabic) are salt flats that dominate the terrestrial landscape in arid tropical and subtropical regions 1 . They are distributed across North Africa, the Gulf States, Mexico, the USA, and Australia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) contains the highest percentage of sabkha area per country 2 . Sabkhas are of two types: coastal and inland sabkhas (i.e., continental sabkha).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salt flat microbial diversity and dynamics across salinity gradient

Hazzouri

Sudalaimuthuasari

Saeed

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Sabkhas are hypersaline, mineral-rich, supratidal mudflats that harbor microbes that are adapted to high salt concentration. Sabkha microbial diversity is generally studied for their community composition, but less is known about their genetic structure and heterogeneity. In this study, we analyzed a coastal sabkha for its microbial composition using 16S rDNA and whole metagenome, as well as for its population genetic structure. Our 16S rDNA analysis show high alpha diversity in both inner and edge sabkha than outer sabkha. Beta diversity result showed similar kind of microbial composition between inner and edge sabkha, while outer sabkha samples show different microbial composition. At phylum level, Bacteroidetes (~ 22 to 34%), Euryarchaeota (~ 18 to ~ 30%), unclassified bacteria (~ 24 to ~ 35%), Actinobacteria (~ 0.01 to ~ 11%) and Cyanobacteria (less than 1%) are predominantly found in both inside and edge sabkha regions, whereas Proteobacteria (~ 92 to ~ 97%) and Parcubacteria (~ 1 to ~ 2%) are predominately found in outer sabkha. Our 225 metagenomes assembly from this study showed similar bacterial community profile as observed in 16S rDNA-based analysis. From the assembled genomes, we found important genes that are involved in biogeochemical cycles and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. We observed a dynamic, thriving ecosystem that engages in metabolic activity that shapes biogeochemical structure via carbon fixation, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling. Our results show varying degrees of horizontal gene transfers (HGT) and homologous recombination, which correlates with the observed high diversity for these populations. Moreover, our pairwise population differentiation (Fst) for the abundance of species across the salinity gradient of sabkhas identified genes with strong allelic differentiation, lower diversity and elevated nonsynonymous to synonymous ratio of variants, which suggest selective sweeps for those gene variants. We conclude that the process of HGT, combined with recombination and gene specific selection, constitute the driver of genetic variation in bacterial population along a salinity gradient in the unique sabkha ecosystem.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salt flat microbial diversity and dynamics across salinity gradient

Hazzouri

Sudalaimuthuasari

Saeed

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…Despite their scientific importance, only a few studies have considered QP sites in this region as heritage sites in need of conservation. A rare exception is the Abu Dhabi Sabkha, UAE, where Lokier [37] and Kirkham and Evans [38] have emphasised its unique heritage values, and reported how recent years have witnessed the destruction of this site due to petroleum and civil engineering activities. The loss of QP sites has also been reported in a few palaeoenvironmental studies, such as the sites studied by Atkinson, et al [39] being destroyed by industrial development [33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Geocultural Database of Quaternary Palaeoenvironmental Sites and Archaeological Sites in Southeast Arabia: Inventory, Endangerment Assessment, and a Roadmap for Conservation

et al. 2022

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Quaternary palaeoenvironmental (QP) sites in Southeast Arabia are important not only to understand the history of global climate change but also to study how ancient humans adapted to a changing natural environment. These sites, however, are currently missing from conservation frameworks despite reports of destroyed sites and sites under imminent threat. This study presents the Geocultural Database of Southeast Arabia, the first open-access database on QP sites in this region, created as a comprehensive inventory of regional QP sites and a tool to analyse QP records and archaeological records. The endangerment assessment of QP sites in this database reveals that 13% of QP sites have already been destroyed and 15% of them are under imminent threat of destruction, primarily due to urban development and infrastructure development. Chronological and spatial analyses of QP and archaeological sites and records highlight the intricate relationship between palaeoenvironment and archaeology and emphasise the need for sub-regional-scale studies to understand the variation of climatic conditions within the region, especially to study changes in the ancient human demography. This database illustrates the potential of a geocultural approach that combines archaeological heritage with Quaternary geoheritage as a way forward for the conservation of QP sites at risk.

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Goudie

2022

Desert Landscapes of the World With Google Earth

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Aspects of the Abu Dhabi Sabkha

Cited by 7 publications

References 39 publications

Salt flat microbial diversity and dynamics across salinity gradient

Salt flat microbial diversity and dynamics across salinity gradient

Developing a Geocultural Database of Quaternary Palaeoenvironmental Sites and Archaeological Sites in Southeast Arabia: Inventory, Endangerment Assessment, and a Roadmap for Conservation

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