RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s natural history is “not fully appreciated and not fully documented,” a King Abdullah University of Science and Technology expert has said, highlighting opportunities for new discoveries.
“Just in our backyard, we have access to these really incredible coastal tropical habitats,” said Prof. Michael Berumen, an expert in marine science and engineering originally from Arkansas.
“I think there are very few places in the world that have that combination of access to tropical habitats like these, and the high quality research facilities we have inside the university.”
KAUST undertakes extensive research and documentation of marine habitats in the Red Sea, which the university’s website says is “one of the world’s most unique and understudied oceans.”
In October, the university published evidence that showed the Red Sea had completely dried around 6.2 million years ago and was then refilled by a massive flood from the Indian Ocean.
The university, located on the shores of the Red Sea on the Kingdom’s west coast, also carries out a number of conservation efforts, including one for the local population of whale sharks.
“Our work with the whale sharks began in 2008, so it’s been quite a long time that we’ve been following these incredible animals,” said Berumen.
The discovery of the giant sea creatures was “somewhat accidental,” he added.
“We were actually trying to work on a different species, and by pure luck, we’re in an area close to the town of Alief, where we saw whale sharks near the surface and started seeing more and more, and we realized that this was probably not a coincidence and that this was some kind of aggregation that was happening.
“These are very special for the science of understanding what’s unique about those species, but they’re actually quite significant for the country as well, because they may only be in the Red Sea.”
Berumen also praised the efforts of local collaborators who have facilitated the university’s research.
“Any type of marine fieldwork always requires, you know, great team operations and great team support and working with Saudi collaborators has made that very easy in Saudi.”
