University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School December 2019 Springs of the Arabian Peninsula: Historical Trends, Current Status and Human Impact in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan Kamal M. Aljohani University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Aljohani, Kamal M., "Springs of the Arabian Peninsula: Historical Trends, Current Status and Human Impact in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan" (2019). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7997 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Springs of the Arabian Peninsula: Historical Trends, Current Status and Human Impact in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan by Kamal M. Aljohani A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in Ecology Department of Integrative Biology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co-Major Professor: Thomas L. Crisman, Ph.D. Co- Major Professor: Henry Mushinsky, Ph.D. Mark C. Rains, Ph.D. Philip J Motta, Ph.D. Reginald Victor, Ph.D. Date of Approval: November 30, 2019 Keywords: water quality, water resources, zooplankton, fish, benthos Copyright © 2019, Kamal M. Aljohani ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my father Mousa Al-Johani for his support for without his support none of this could have been remotely possible. I am extremely grateful to my advisor, Thomas Crisman, for his guidance, support, and patience with me as a student from a foreign country. I would like to thank Heiko Langner, Jingyu Liu and Mohammed K. Khalid of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for their help and support during this research, and for their valuable time and advices while conducting the lab analysis. I am also grateful to Osamah Al-Hazmi who assisted me in the research in Oman, and Mazen Al-Johani and Rami Al-Johani who assisted in Saudi Arabia. Nader Al- Johani and Mohammed AL- Harbi who assisted me in the research in Jordan. Umesh Patil provided me with resource to better conduct this research. I also appreciate the help of Jörg Freyhof and his team, Reginald Victor and Paul Thurman for their data assistance. My sister Safa Al-Johani assisted in presenting this work. My doctoral committee: Thomas Crisman, Henry Mushinsky, Mark Rains, Philip Motta from the University of South Florida and Reginald Victor from Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, all provided editorial comments in the preparation of this manuscript. I am especially thankful for my family for their support throughout this journey. Finally, I would like to thank my friends Tom Hann, John Cronan and Michelle Hoffman for their valuable advice and time along this journey. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................v Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ viii Introduction to the Dissertation .......................................................................................................1 Chapter One: Overview of Stream and Spring Ecology ................................................................. 6 Stream Ecology ....................................................................................................................6 Spring Ecology...................................................................................................................15 The Equilibrium Theory and Island Biogeography ..........................................................16 Desert Springs ....................................................................................................................17 References ..........................................................................................................................20 Chapter Two: Current and Historical Physical and Chemical Parameters of Springs in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan ........................................................................................................30 Introduction ........................................................................................................................30 Methods..............................................................................................................................33 Site Locations.........................................................................................................33 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................34 Results ................................................................................................................................34 Current Status of Springs .......................................................................................34 Saudi Arabia...............................................................................................34 Oman ..........................................................................................................36 Jordan .........................................................................................................39 Historical Changes in Springs ................................................................................40 Saudi Arabia...............................................................................................40 Oman ..........................................................................................................43 Jordan .........................................................................................................45 Discussion ..........................................................................................................................48 References ..........................................................................................................................53 Chapter Three: Biological Parameters (Zooplankton, Benthos, Fish) of Springs in the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan ...........................................................................58 Introduction ........................................................................................................................58 Materials and Methods .......................................................................................................60 Site Locations.........................................................................................................60 Zooplankton ...........................................................................................................60 i Gastropods .............................................................................................................61 Fish .........................................................................................................................61 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................62 Results and Discussion ......................................................................................................63 Zooplankton ...........................................................................................................63 Saudi Arabia...............................................................................................63 Oman ..........................................................................................................66 Jordan .........................................................................................................68 Gastropods ............................................................................................................69 Pseudosuccinea columella .........................................................................69 Melanoides tuberculate ..............................................................................70 Fish .........................................................................................................................70 Methods......................................................................................................72 Site Locations.............................................................................................74 Statistical Analysis ....................................................................................74 Distribution of Native Fish Species in the Arabian Peninsula ...................75 Aphanius dispar .............................................................................77 Cyprinion micropthalmum .............................................................78 Garra barreimiae ...........................................................................79 Garra tibanica ...............................................................................79 Species Distribution Relative to Environmental Parameters .....................82 Fish Conversation on the Arabian Peninsula .............................................84