Qeshm Island Research Articles

Application of otolith morphometrics in delineating population structure of Aphaniops stoliczkanus (Teleostei: Aphaniidae) in southern Iranian waters

AbstractWidely distributed Species in different geological and ecological environments often exhibit great intraspecific diversity. Aphaniops stoliczkanus (Day, 1872) is an endemic species of Middle East occurring over a vast geographic range in different basins. This species has been observed in freshwater, brackish water and hot sulphur springs; therefore, its populations are known to exhibit considerable morphological variation. In the present study, we have investigated the poorly studied populations of A. stoliczkanus of the Hormuz and Makran basins of Iran in terms of otolith morphology and morphometrics. According to the results, these populations can be divided into two distinct groups including east and west of the Strait of Hormuz. Our results also provide evidence that there is a relationship between otolith morphology and the environment, serving as environmental factors that may influence the formation of specific regions in the otolith shape. Despite the remarkable morphological similarities among otoliths in geographically close populations of Charak and Chiruyeh, our data purposed that geographically these populations have different dorsal tip shapes in their otolith. In comparison to the data from other studies, the otoliths of Qeshm Island appear to resemble the overall shape of otolith found in Oman very closely. However, it is believed that Qeshm Island population was separated from the Hormuz basin populations during the Holocene Sea level rise. Also, the outcomes of this study provide insights into the potential role of environmental factors in shaping intraspecific diversity and the migration patterns of this species within the Persian Gulf.

Development of desalination plants within the semi-enclosed Persian Gulf

Although many desalination plants have been built in the countries around the Persian Gulf (PG) over the past decade, there exist crucial water demands in this region. Considering the limited water exchange between PG and the open seas, effluents more than the natural capacity of the PG will increase the sea-water salinity continuously. This excess salinity, in addition to threatening the marine ecosystems, endangers the water supply for many population centers. This study provides a comprehensive numerical analysis of the impact of existing and new desalination plants on the PG’s salinity. In addition, the water residence time and pollutant extension have been investigated in the PG. There exist several concerns, especially in recent years about the probable threat of desalination growth in semi-enclosed seas such as PG. The effect of desalination plants on the mean salinity of PG is one the questions investigated in this research. Results demonstrate that the water residence times in the southern and northwestern regions are more than five years. This time is reduced to nearly 26 to 45 months in the eastern regions near the Strait of Hormuz. Generally, the desalination plants have a negligible effect on the salinity of PG in comparison with the climate conditions such as evaporation and water exchanges. Based on the results, a 50% increase in effluent discharge of existing desalination plants increases the average salinity of the PG by only 0.01 psu. However, the annual volume of net evaporation (that exits the clean water directly) is nearly 36 times more than the effluent discharge from the existing desalination plants. Furthermore, this value is almost 0.2% of the amount of water that enters the PG through the Strait of Hormuz. In spite of these findings, the regional effects can be significant in some parts of the PG. For example, the southern and western coasts of PG are generally more vulnerable to pollution than other areas. The main reason is the shallow water depth in these areas and the water recirculation pattern. Some sensitive local areas have been also addressed in this study. Among the studied regions, the coastlines at the northwest of PG and at the north the Qeshm Island are two susceptible areas. The findings of this study underscore the importance of considering a new integrated viewpoint in developing desalination plants within PG.

Full analysis and deep learning optimization of a sustainable and eco-friendly power plant to generate green hydrogen and electricity; A zero-carbon approach

Among alternative energy sources for fossil fuels, hydrogen has emerged as a promising candidate; however, its production methods, reliant on fossil fuels, constrain its widespread adoption as a sustainable energy source. To transcend this limitation, researchers have proposed the concept of green hydrogen production, leveraging renewable energy sources, as a viable solution. This study presents a comprehensive techno-economic analysis that seeks to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a multi-generation green power plant in Iran. Extensive climate data from diverse locations across Iran were collected to determine the most influential design parameters. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the entire system, and an innovative neural network algorithm was employed to optimize the objective functions, given the substantial computational time required for the optimization process. The results of the optimization revealed Qeshm island as the optimal location for the green power plant, considering its favorable annual average temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation intensity. Remarkably, the proposed green power plant boasts a robust power generation capacity of 10.1 MW, enabling the production of 250 tons of hydrogen per year, exhibiting a 10 % improvement in exergy efficiency, and a 6 % reduction in LCOE, in comparison to similar studies. Furthermore, it exhibits an impressive total exergy efficiency of 41.6 %, resulting in a substantial annual income of $3.9 million and achieving a commendable payback period of 1.8 years.

Free-living marine nematodes of the family Sphaerolaimidae (Chromadoria, Monhysterida) from the mangroves of the Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf

Free-living marine nematodes of the family Sphaerolaimidae (Chromadoria, Monhysterida) from the mangroves of the Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf

Can land-use and land-cover change explain reduced resilience in forests?

Generating signals of reduced resilience in ecosystems is crucial for conservation and management endeavors. However, the practical implications of such systems are still limited due to the lack of high-frequency data and uncertainties associated with predicting complex systems such as ecosystems. This study aims to investigate the potential of time series analysis of remote sensing data in detecting signals of reduced resilience in mangrove forest ecosystems. Using time series analysis of remote sensing images, the resilience of mangrove forests was explored across two distinct study sites. One site (Qeshm Island) has been adversely affected by land-use and land-cover changes, while the other (Gabrik) serves as a reference ecosystem. The study uses data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite to quantify three remotely sensed indices: the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), and the Modified Vegetation Water Ratio (MVWR). In addition, Landsat data has been used to explore temporal alterations in land-use and land-cover change. To identify signals of reduced resilience, trend analyses of indicators such as autocorrelation (acf (1)) and standard deviation (SD) are applied. The findings revealed a notable decrease in resilience, signaled by significant upward trends in NDVI statistical metrics for Qeshm Island (Kendall’s τ of acf (1): 0.50 and SD: 0.90), contrasting with the pattern observed in Gabrik (Kendall’s τ of acf (1): −0.19 and SD: −0.19). These results align with our expectations derived from previous studies. Despite MNDWI significantly indicating reduced resilience in Qeshm Island (Kendall’s τ of acf (1): 0.86 and SD: 0.90), it also signaled decreased resilience in Gabrik (Kendall’s τ of acf (1): 0.79 and SD: 0.90). Moreover, MVWR failed to indicate signals of reduced resilience in both sites, specifically in Qeshm (Kendall’s τ of acf (1): −0.10 and SD: −0.07) and in Gabrik (Kendall’s τ of acf (1): −0.72 and SD: −0.12). These findings may be explained through quantitative analyses of land-use and land-cover change. While Qeshm Island and Gabrik share similarities in climate, geography, and annual rainfall, the analysis of land-use and land-cover change revealed significant differences between the two study areas. Qeshm Island underwent drastic increases in the built-up class by a 64.40% change between 1996 and 2014, whereas the built-up class expanded modestly by a 4.04% change in the Gabrik site. This study contributes to advancing our understanding of ecosystem dynamics. The findings of this study can be integrated with ecosystem management tools to enhance the effectiveness of conservation efforts. This is the first report of the successful application of remote sensing in generating signals of reduced resilience within mangrove forests in the Middle East.

Influence of Temporal Variation on Morphology and Architecture in Burrows of Ocypode Rotundata (Miers, 1882) on Salakh Beach of Qeshm Island, the Persian Gulf

Variability over time in morphology and architecture of burrows excavated by Ocypode rotundata was studied on Salakh beach, Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf. According to our results, O. rotundata excavated single Shafts, J-shaped, Y-shaped, spiral and complex burrows, with spiral and complex burrows occurring only in adult crabs. The results showed that mating and reproduction behaviour of O. rotundata mainly occurred in the upper foreshore zone. Based on carapace width data and sex, percentage of J-shaped and Y-shaped burrow were more in female young crabs compared to males. Whilst, percentage of constructed single Shaft, J-shaped burrows were more frequent in male adult crabs compared to females. On the other hand, created complex burrow was observed just in male adult crabs. Also, male crabs created sand pyramid mounds seaward in front of the burrows. Four types of sand disposal behaviour were observed: knocking, throwing, slamming (only males) and stacking (only males). Results indicated that O. rotundata constructed burrows with any shape in all types of sediment, from the backshore to the foreshore. Sand moisture decreased with distance from the sea, which was associated with an increase in burrow depth. Temporal variation had significant impact on burrow slope, so that the entrance branch of all burrow shapes was clearly steeper during the reproduction period in contrast to the same burrows created in the non-reproduction period.

Jeju Island- A “Visa-Free” South Korean Destination, Not Free to All: A Legal Remedy

Jeju Island, a picturesque island off the southern coast of South Korea, is a popular destination known for its stunning natural landscapes and unique culture. Unlike South Korea’s general visa policy, which requires visas for many nationalities, Jeju Island offers a more lenient visa-free policy, allowing most travelers to stay for up to 30 days without a visa, providing they satisfy the requirement of arriving via direct flight outside mainland South Korea. However, the island's visa policy is only partially inclusive, as it excludes nationals from 23 countries designated by the South Korean Ministry of Justice.
 While allowing visa-free travel for tourists is a concept explored previously, South Korea's restriction on certain nationalities undercuts its goal of promoting tourism and economic development on Jeju Island. Interestingly, other countries that have visa-free island policies do not impose such restrictions, including Vietnam’s Phú Quốc Island, Iran’s Kish and Qeshm Islands, and Norway’s Svalbard.
 This article delves into Jeju Island’s visa policy, the list of excluded countries, and the policies of other countries with visa-free islands. It proposes a straightforward legal remedy that could promote more inclusive tourism by allowing all nationalities to visit Jeju Island without visa restrictions. Such a move would enhance the island’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive tourist destination and foster greater international cooperation.

Comparison of heavy metals pollution in coastal sediments of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and Hormuz-Lark, Persian Gulf

Comparison of heavy metals pollution in coastal sediments of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and Hormuz-Lark, Persian Gulf

First record of the genus Desertoniscus Verhoeff, 1930 (Isopoda: Agnaridae) from Iran, with the description of a new species

A new species of terrestrial isopod, Desertoniscus iranensis n. sp., is described from Qeshm Island, southern Iran, representing the first record of the genus Desertoniscus for Iran. A description of the new species is provided and its diagnostic characters are illustrated. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2DDFE22F-6BFF-4221-A520-58CD5AF19A79

The impact of human activities on the mangrove forests of the Qeshm Island, Iran

This article investigates the human impact on the mangrove forest in the Qeshm Geopark on the Qeshm Island in the south of Iran from 1986 to 2020. The area of mangrove forests increased by 14% from 5,131 hectares in 1986 to 5,472 hectares in 2000, and to 5,967 hectares in 2020. The mangrove forest is threatened by oil and gas facilities and a zinc smelter located on the island. The average concentration of nickel in sediment (97.2 μg/g) and in leaves (3.1 μg/g) was higher than the average concentration of vanadium in sediment (38.7 μg/g) and in leaves (0.5 μg/g). The results showed that the transfer coefficient of nickel and vanadium from root to leaf on the dry side of the Qeshm habitat (r = 0.597 and r = 0.516, respectively) was positively correlated with pH. Therefore, increasing the pH leads to an increased metal transfer from the root to the leaf, which endangers the mangrove habitat on the island. The mangrove forest in the vicinity of the zinc factory is threatened by high concentrations of lead (244.2 ppm), zinc (3172.8 ppm), arsenic, and cadmium found in the soil sample.

Chemical fractionations and mobilization potentials for some trace metals in reef sediments and corals of Qeshm Island, the Persian Gulf

The bioavailability of trace metals in coral skeletons and sediment samples from Larak and Qeshm Islands in the Persian Gulf was investigated using the sequential extraction technique (SET), bioaccumulation measurement and risk assessment indices. The fractionation results and risk assessment indices indicated that Pb at the Qeshm Station and Cd and Zn at both Stations could have adverse biological effects due to high bioavailability. The bioaccumulation rate of metals in different reef species and at different Stations was not significant. The studied coral reefs showed a high tendency for Pb adsorption, so they could be an efficient bioindicator of Pb contamination. Statistical analysis showed that Pb and Zn were mainly from anthropogenic contamination sources, while the other metals were primarily of natural origin. The results indicated that further studies are needed to make a realistic assessment of the discharge of trace metals to the Persian Gulf.

Hidden Depths: A Unique Biodiversity Oasis in the Persian Gulf in Need of Further Exploration and Conservation

The Persian Gulf, a young and shallow epicontinental sea, is known for its unique geological and oceanographic characteristics that foster its diverse and productive marine ecosystems. A substantial portion of the Gulf’s seafloor consists of unconsolidated soft sediments, making it unsuitable for colonization by many sessile organisms. Consequently, relatively few hard grounds and submerged banks provide suitable habitats for benthic and substrate dwellers. This study documents a unique marine habitat on an offshore submerged bank, likely a raised salt dome, south of Qeshm Island, Iran. This area is home to a high concentration of ahermatypic coral species and remains relatively sheltered from human activities. The bank’s geographic location allows inflow currents from the Strait of Hormuz to transport larvae and nutrients, providing suitable substrates for various sessile invertebrates. Moreover, it causes the formation of Taylor columns, which affect fluid dynamics and circulation patterns, indirectly enhancing biodiversity. Despite facing risks from large-scale regional and localized threats, the bank’s remoteness from the main coast and its depth provide some protection. This study emphasizes the need for continued exploration and the implementation of effective conservation measures in the region, along with additional research to clarify the ecological and physical parameters supporting its diversity. It also presents the first in situ photographic evidence for the occurrence of some octocoral genera in the Gulf. Future research should investigate how the species compositions of hidden banks and shoals contribute to the overall biodiversity of the Persian Gulf.

Analyzing the environmental components of the coastal islands on the minimum ecological housing design; Case Study: Qeshm Island

Analyzing the environmental components of the coastal islands on the minimum ecological housing design; Case Study: Qeshm Island

Boundaries Determination in Potential Field Anomaly Utilizing Analytical Signal Filtering and its Vertical Derivative in Qeshm Island SE Iran

The analytical signal method and its derivatives can be explicitly calculated and assessed for analyzing and estimating the boundary of geological structures, such as faults or dikes, from potential field anomalies. Gravity field of the east of Qeshm Island and its north coast from Sarkhun to Latidan in SE Iran has been measured in one-kilometer regular network. The regional anomaly effects are deducted from the Bouguer anomaly, where it can get the residual anomalies which is the considered dataset used in this study. The Bouguer range is -297 to -330 milligals (mGal) applying filters and modeling. It was revealed that there are five negative anomalies caused by salt penetration in the region. Regional anomalies expectedly have a low spatial frequency and long wavelengths, while the residual anomalies associated with shallow sub-surface potentials have high spatial frequencies and short-wave wavelengths.Two different fault trends were observed comparing the artificial model using MATLAB coding, the real one, and the filtered residual anomaly map of the Qeshm region. Also, another fault trend is suggested in the east height of Oman, which is a possible place of salt penetration. Due to the limited dimensions (120 * 100 km) and the information obtained from the existing drillings, the depth of the anomaly resources can be examined up to 8 km. Due to the gravitational condition between the two domes of Qeshm saline and the bridge located in the Hara saline area, it is suggested to be considered as an area for further oil exploration routines.

Evaluating resampled and fused Sentinel-2 data and machine-learning algorithms for mangrove mapping in the northern coast of Qeshm island, Iran

Mangrove forests, as an essential component of the coastal zones in tropical and subtropical areas, provide a wide range of goods and ecosystem services that play a vital role in ecology. Mangroves are globally threatened, disappearing, and degraded. Consequently, knowledge on mangroves distribution and change is important for effective conservation and making protection policies. Developing remote sensing data and classification methods have proven to be suitable tools for mapping mangrove forests over a regional scale. Here, we scrutinized and compared the performance of pixel-based and object-based methods under Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) algorithms in mapping a mangrove ecosystem into four main classes (Mangrove tree, mudflat, water, and sand spit) using resampled and fused Sentinel-2 images. Additionally, landscape metrics were used to identify the differences between spatial patterns obtained from different classification methods. Results showed that pixel-based classifications were influenced heavily by the effect of salt and pepper noise, whereas in object-based classifications, boundaries of land use land cover (LULC) polygons were smoother and visually more appealing. Object-based classifications, with an excellent level of kappa, distinguished mudflat and sand spit from each other and from mangrove better than the pixel-based classifications which obtained a fair-to-good level of kappa. RF and SVM performed differently under comparable circumstances. The results of landscape metrics comparison presented that the classification methods can be affected on quantifying area and size metrics. Although the results supported the idea that fused Sentinel images may provide better results in mangrove LULC classification, further research needs to develop and evaluate various image fusion approaches to make use of all Sentinel’s fine resolution images. Our results on the mapping of mangrove ecosystems can contribute to the improvement of management and conservation strategies for these ecosystems being impacted by human activities.

Identification of New Amylolytic Enzymes from Marine Symbiotic Bacteria of Bacillus Species

α-amylases are one of the most common and important industrial enzymes widely used in various industries. The present study was conducted with the aim of isolating and identifying symbiotic α-amylase enzyme-producing bacteria in the intestine of Silago Sihama and Rasterliger Canagorta fish living in Qeshm Island, Hormozgan. The intestinal symbiotic bacteria of these species were isolated using nutrient agar culture medium; then, α-amylase producing bacteria were screened using a special culture medium containing starch and the Lugol’s solution test. The α-amylase enzyme activity of enzyme-producing bacteria was measured using the starch substrate. Finally, bacteria with the highest enzyme activity were selected and identified by the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The results showed that out of 22 isolated bacteria, 10 were able to grow in a special culture medium, and 5 strains of these 10 bacteria had the ability to produce relatively stronger halos. The four bacterial strains belonging to the genus Bacillus that had the highest α-amylase enzyme activity were identified and registered in the NCBI gene database as B. subtilis strains HR13, HR14, HR15, and HR16. Among these four strains, two strains of B. subtilis, HR13 and HR16, displayed high enzyme activity and maximum activity at 60 °C at pH values of 5 and 7, respectively. α-Amylase enzymes isolated from marine symbiotic bacteria of Bacillus species can be considered potential candidates for application in various industries.

Subspecies identification of Lesser Whitethroats, Sylvia curruca, wintering in southern Iran as inferred from DNA sequences (Aves: Sylviidae)

The Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca complex has a wide distribution in the east and west Palaearctic and comprises phenotypically very similar, but genetically distinct forms. In order to determine the origin of the birds wintering on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, we studied the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of 23 individuals and compared them with sequences publicly available on Gen-Bank. The birds from Qeshm were attributed to the subspecies S. c. halimodendri, probably breeding in areas of Kazakhstan and China, and formed two distinct clades. As the genetic distance between these groups is very low, it is likely that they represent different populations of the same taxon.

Determination of the Boundaries of Anomaly Potential Field with Analytical Signal Filter and its Orthogonal Derivative in Qeshm Island SE Iran

Determination of the Boundaries of Anomaly Potential Field with Analytical Signal Filter and its Orthogonal Derivative in Qeshm Island SE Iran

New optimal scheme for the poly-generation system, integrated with ORC and hydrogen production units, using technical, emergy, and thermo-risk analyses-case study for qeshm power and water co-generation plant

The diversity of energy demand in terms of products has led to the upgrading the power plants into multi-generation systems. The Qeshm freshwater and power plant located in Qeshm Island, Iran, has been investigated. The existing plant was integrated with an absorption chiller, solar thermal collector, and RO desalination unit in the previous study. This study has proposed and evaluated a new configuration for this plant. This new scheme consists of power, heating, cooling, freshwater, and hydrogen production units. A PEM electrolyzer and an organic Rankine cycle have been integrated into the previously proposed system to generate hydrogen and more power. In order to evaluate the proposals for the Qeshm freshwater and power plant, the energy, exergy, exergo-economic, exergo-environmental, emergo-economic, emergo-environmental, and exergo-risk (7E) analyses have been performed on the new integrated system. Furthermore, a multi-objective optimization process has been conducted on the proposed system using the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm to obtain the optimal scheme of the proposed configuration. The results of the thermo-risk analysis indicate that the most hazardous unit of the system is the gas cycle section, with a 91.21% share of the total rate of risk in the site, which equals 11.705 × 10 - 6 i n j u r e d / y e a r . By comparing the results of the previous work and the new proposed integrated plant, the new system’s poly-generation efficiency and net power output have been enhanced by 5.523% and 7.945%, respectively. The new integrated plant can produce two new hydrogen and oxygen products in 0.003 and 0.21 kg/s, respectively. Also, the cost of power produced by the system has been raised only by 0.393 $/MWh or 0.91%, while its environmental impact has been decreased by 0.702 pts/MWh or 3.98%. The total rate of risk of the system will increase due to adding ORC and PEMEC units to the cycle, which is from 10.129 to 11.105 × 10 - 6 i n j u r e d / y e a r . But, from the thermo-risk point of view, the total specific risk of the plant’s products has been reduced from 37.820 to 37.486 × 10 - 8 i n j u r e d / ( y e a r . M W ) . Furthermore, the optimization process results show that implementing the optimization process has improved the objective functions of the proposed integrated plant from technical, monetary, ecological, and risk points of view.

A SUB-PIXEL VISUALIZATION METHOD TO DISPLAY FUZZY PHENOMENA USING RGB COLOR COMPOSITE (CASE STUDY: MANGROVES FOREST)

Natural phenomena boundaries and complexity of features in an urban area due to the low spatial resolution, lead to more pixels of satellite images included in reflectance of multiple land-cover/object components. The sub-pixel information extracting model outputs are fractional cover maps of interested class (end-member), with membership values between zero and one. These maps represented gradient change in only one fuzzy phenomenon boundaries such as vegetation cover. However, in multiple fuzzy class area or complex fuzzy phenomena such as mangrove forests, in the northwest of the Qeshm Island, Hormozgan, Iran, displaying several fractional covers may cause confusion and misunderstanding for the end-user. In this study, an additive color composite and spectral mixture analysis method is utilized for multiple fractional cover representation. The proposed method is implemented on images acquired from Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor in the Landsat 8 satellite to extract three fractional covers (water, vegetation, and soil). An RGB color composite was used for each type and percentage of fractional cover for given pixel to display fractional cover separately. Based on such RGB color composite represented both quantitative and qualitative information, we used the RGB color solid cube as map legend for better understanding and map interpretation. The result of this study showed that suggested sub-pixel visualization method, gives new vision to the end-user understanding of fuzzy phenomena.