Biology, New York University-Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2013 Jul 30;72(2):357-63. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.08.022. Epub 2012 Sep 12.
Historically coral reefs of Bahrain were among the most extensive in the southern basin of the Arabian Gulf. However, Bahrain's reefs have undergone significant decline in the last four decades as a result of large-scale coastal development and elevated sea surface temperature events. Here we quantitatively surveyed six sites including most major coral reef habitats around Bahrain and a reef located 72 km offshore. Fleshy and turf algae now dominate Bahrain's reefs (mean: 72% cover), and live coral cover is low (mean: 5.1%). Formerly dominant Acropora were not observed at any site. The offshore Bulthama reef had the highest coral cover (16.3%) and species richness (22 of the 23 species observed, 13 of which were exclusive to this site). All reefs for which recent and historical data are available show continued degradation, and it is unlikely that they will recover under continuing coastal development and projected climate change impacts.
巴林的珊瑚礁曾是阿拉伯海湾南部海域中分布最广的珊瑚礁之一。然而，在过去的四十年里，由于大规模的海岸开发和海平面温度升高事件，巴林的珊瑚礁已经大幅减少。在这里，我们对包括巴林周围六个主要珊瑚礁栖息地和一个位于 72 公里外海域的珊瑚礁在内的六个地点进行了定量调查。现在，肉质和草皮藻类主导着巴林的珊瑚礁（平均覆盖率：72%），活珊瑚覆盖率较低（平均覆盖率：5.1%）。在任何地点都没有观察到以前占主导地位的鹿角珊瑚。位于 72 公里外的布特马雷礁的珊瑚覆盖率最高（16.3%）和物种丰富度最高（观察到的 23 个物种中有 22 个，其中 13 个是该地点特有的）。所有有最新和历史数据的珊瑚礁都显示出持续的退化，在持续的海岸开发和预计的气候变化影响下，它们不太可能恢复。
