Diversity and distribution of the Isopoda (Crustacea, Peracarida) of Kuwait, with an updated checklist

Thirty-eight species of Isopoda, belonging to 13 families and 29 genera, are listed from Kuwait based on previous literature records (of 17 species) and collections carried out along Kuwait’s coastal and subtidal zones during the present study. The majority of species belongs to the suborder Cymothoida (23), followed by Sphaeromatidea (9), Oniscidea (3), Valvifera (2), and Asellota (1). In total, 25 species were collected and identified from 12 families and 22 genera from Kuwaiti coastal and subtidal areas. These include eight families, 15 genera, and 21 species recorded for the first time from Kuwait. Isopod diversity was highest in the sandy rock areas, including southern Kuwait, particularly in Al-Khiran and Al-Nuwaiseeb, and in mixed habitat (muddy, rocky, and sandy) intertidal transects such as in Failaka Island. The species number increased from the subtidal and lowest zones into the high tidal zone. Isopods were found in sandy substrata, among shells, cobbles, rocks, dead corals, and algae.

Modeling of Sediment Transport Using Wave Height action in Fialaka Marina

Failaka Island is the second-largest and one of the most important islands of Kuwait from the point of view of tourism located in the north Arabian Gulf. It has a marina constructed in 1979 and managed by the Ministry of Communication (MOC) and a tourism enterprise, and is widely used for its ferry landing facility. The coastal waters around Failaka are turbid and current velocities tend to be as high as ~0.5 m/s during spring tide. The marina basin, with axial plan view dimensions of about 285 m by 260 m experiences shoaling of naturally flocculated fine (cohesive) sediment and coarse sand in the entrance channel and more generally in the southern half of the basin. A particularly noteworthy zone of heavy and visible shoaling is along the inner side of the south breakwater close to the entrance. The marina at Failaka Island is suffering from siltation and sediment deposing issues. This study was carried out numerically to assess the annual sedimentation, sediment direction, and longshore current from locations around the existing marina to help in a suggestion of the solutions to reduce the siltation and sediment deposing based on sediments transport direction on marina entrance. A newly developed numerical solution for annual longshore sediments transport was used to estimate the total sediment transport and its direction. The study shows that the annual sediment transport directions which affect the Fialaka marina entrance are coming from the south to north due to wave action.