Restore

29/03/2021

Early March in Qatari Waters. For our male Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), this means mating season. He’s out on the hunt looking for potential females around Halul. Soon his hatchlings will be making their way from the beaches of Qatar back to the open ocean.
Distinguished by their narrow, pointed beaks and distinctive carapace with overlapping scales, they have been hunted for their shells and as a result are now classified as CR (Critically endangered) on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Natura) Red List.
Found mainly in tropical waters, predominantly in coral reef habitats, they feed on sponges, jelly fish, and sea anemones and are essential in maintaining the health of seas grass and coral reef habitats.

25/03/2021

Researchers have been trying to get BRUV (Baited Remote Underwater Video) footage of sharks in Qatari Waters. Our teams underwater setup finally managed to get some footage of a Zebra shark.
Zebra sharks (Stegostoma fasciatum) are found in tropical waters in coral reef habitats, where they feed on snails, sea urchins, crabs, small fish, and other small invertebrates.
A distinct feature of zebra sharks are that they change their appearance from being dark brown with yellow stripes when they are born, to trading their stripes for spots with a tan body as they mature. This has led many divers to confuse them with leopard sharks.

22/03/2021

This recent publication summarizes the results of a project focused on the potential application of the Ecosystem Services-EBM framework to sustainably manage Qatar's coral reef and seagrass bed ecosystems.
The paper uses data from interviews with stakeholders, 16 coral reef sites (some previously undescribed) and 6 seagrass meadows to determine the status of these ecosystems and the benefits that are most valued by stakeholders.

Given the current natural and anthropogenic threats facing Qatar's marine environment and the consequential expected decline in ecosystem services, th…

15/03/2021

During the past few months we have given presentations on our work to members of Qatar's Natural History Group, both of which are highlighted in their Newsletter- Check it out!

Those local to Qatar, the QNHG is a great way to learn about and explore the natural sites around the country through rambles and presentations. .org

10/03/2021

Our proposals for research on:
1. Assessing the contribution of oil platforms and the impact of decommissioning scenarios to marine biodiversity, productivity and connectivity, and
2. Closing the cycle for coral restoration in Qatar: innovative technologies for ex-situ sexual propagation of corals
were recently funded by the Qatar National Research Fund-National Priorities Research Program!!!
Both projects will begin in 2021 and will contribute towards advancing coral reef restoration and supporting sustainability of marine resources.
Congrats Team!

QNRF provide opportunities for researchers at all levels, from students to professionals, whether in the academic, public or private sectors to generate multiple benefits for Qatar.

08/03/2021

A video highlighting QataREEF, our coral reef restoration project developed Qatar University in collaboration with Total and SeaBoost https://www.cnbc.com/advertorial/2020/09/24/reef-regenerating-and-reboosting-coral.html?

Sometimes dubbed “the rainforests of the sea” coral reefs make up less than 0.2% of the ocean floor but are home to 25% of all marine species.

03/03/2021

Coral disease is a serious threat to coral reefs worldwide and the first step to protecting reefs from disease outbreaks is to get an understanding of what diseases occur on your reefs, what species are affected and what the 'normal' disease levels are. As such, we are conducting the first baseline disease surveys on the reefs of Qatar and looking at the microbiomes of a common coral species on these reefs, Platygyra daedalea.

01/03/2021

We are using Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) to determine variations in abundance and diversity of fish on coral reefs across Qatar. This footage shows a Orangespotted Grouper (Hamour) exerting his territorial dominance over a Blackspot Snapper (Neisra) when they fight for the leftover bait fish at the end of our sampling.

24/02/2021

Another recent publication from our group on the potential effect of Climate Change Coral and Reef Fish

Coral reefs are facing global challenges, with climate change causing recurrent coral bleaching events at a faster rate than corals may be able to recover from, and leading to an overall decline of...

22/02/2021

We have been busy over the past year collecting samples of corals to determine when particular species are producing gametes, this will then allow us to hopefully narrow down the window as to when they are releasing their gametes (spawning). A recent publication by Andrew Baird et al 2021, will help tremendously in this effort as it includes recorded spawning observations from the entire Indo-Pacific dating back until the 1980s!