Scientists have discovered a new species of water flea that plays an essential role in maintaining ecological balance in the ponds and lakes of the UAE.
Given the name Daphnia arabica, the minuscule crustacean has led researchers to draw what might seem surprising parallels between the dispersion of water fleas and humans across the globe.
They have suggested that the Middle East provided a bridge for the spread across the globe of the group of water fleas to which D. arabica belongs, just as the region was a staging post for the migration of humans from Africa.
Details of the new species have been published in the journal Water and scientists are now carrying out detailed genetic analysis that could uncover which genes help the creature cope with the UAE’s high temperatures.
Tiny creatures play big role in marine sustainability
Although water fleas are not well known to the general public, the lead researcher in the UAE, Prof Waleed Hamza, of the College of Science at UAE University in Al Ain, said the animas — which reach up to 5 millimetres in length — are essential to the healthy functioning of water ecosystems.
As a form of animal plankton, they feed on plant plankton (phytoplankton), which they prevent from multiplying to levels that would cause harm to other organisms that live in the water.
Algal blooms can cause fish to suffocate because the decomposition of dead phytoplankton causes oxygen levels in water to fall.
"If there’s any imbalance in the ecosystem due to the lack of zooplankton or the consumption of zooplankton by fish intensively, the lakes become hypertrophic [with excessive nutrient levels] and becomes more green and this has consequences like fish suffocation. Zooplankton play a major role in keeping the trophic status of lakes stable," he said.
Using maps and satellite images, the researchers identified 114 locations in the UAE where freshwater was present, mostly human-made lakes in the north-east of the country.
They analysed water, sediment and mud samples from about 10 of these lakes, filtering thousands of litres to find the water fleas, which are crustaceans and unrelated to actual fleas, which are insects. Five species were identified – D. arabica and four others already known to science.
As well as looking at the species using microscopes, the researchers carried out genetic analysis, which showed the evolutionary relationships between the species.
Findings offer glimpse into the past
Based on genetic analysis, researchers think the presence of D. arabica in the UAE is the result of the Arabian peninsula having once been part of Gondwana, a supercontinent that existed between 180 million and 600 million years ago.
Today’s land masses that formed Gondwana, including Africa, South Africa, Australia and the Indian subcontinent, share many similarities in flora and fauna.
"Most probably this Daphnia arrived on some fragment of Gondwana, maybe Africa, maybe somewhere else, and then it was distributed through the Northern Hemisphere," said Dr Alexey Kotov, a researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution in Moscow, who led a team of Russian scientists involved in the project. "Now it’s mainly distributed in the northern portion."
The dispersion into Europe and Asia of the group to which Daphnia belongs is thought to have happened in the Miocene epoch, which ran from 23 million years ago to 5.3 million years ago.
"The most strange thing is this really is similar to the dispersion of humans, because humans originated in Africa and then were dispersed through the Arabian peninsula to Eurasia, like Daphnia," Dr Kotov added.
Globally, the distribution of some water flea species has changed in modern times but Dr Kotov said it was difficult to say whether this was due to climate change or because the creatures were being transported by human activity.
In some areas, the movement of water fleas has caused ecological harm. Spiny water fleas from Europe and Asia are now found in the Great Lakes of North America and are an invasive species causing significant ecological harm, including damage to fish populations. According to the department of environmental conservation of New York State, "there is no successful method of control".
Dr Hamza said it was likely that there were other undiscovered species of Daphnia present in the UAE and would like to continue the research to find some of them.
"We have 114 places. We only visited 10 of them. I think we need to have a big project to cover the whole territory of the UAE," he said.
The scientists also hope to publish full details of the genetic make up of D. arabica, which could help to pinpoint the genes that help the creatures to cope with the UAE’s high temperatures.
So, there remains much left to learn about this modestly sized creature recently discovered in the Emirates.
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
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8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
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Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
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Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Marital status: Single
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Gothia Cup 2025
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if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
