The biological effects of chemical contaminants in the Arabian/Persian Gulf: A review

Abstract

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. The Arabian Gulf is a shallow sea naturally exposed to extreme conditions of temperature and salinity due to its location, semi-enclosed nature, bathymetry and restricted circulation. Compared to open marine systems, the added stress imposed by pollutants is likely to have additional adverse consequences. Maintaining good marine environmental quality is crucial for several socio-economic reasons, one of the most important being that the region relies heavily on seawater as a source of freshwater through desalination. While regionally based marine monitoring programs employing chemical endpoints have been widely deployed, few have evaluated the potential biological effects of those contaminants detected. However, it is now widely recognized that an integrated approach using both chemical measurements and appropriate biological endpoints in key sentinel species is essential to the design and implementation of marine environmental programs. Here we present an exhaustive review of the studies published so far in the Gulf on the biological effects of chemical contaminants using different biological endpoints and suggest potential areas requiring additional research.