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KAUST Study: More Large Mammals Roamed Arabian Peninsula than Previously Thought

According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA
According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA
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KAUST Study: More Large Mammals Roamed Arabian Peninsula than Previously Thought

According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA
According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA

A new study by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), published in the Journal of Biogeography, has identified 15 large mammal species that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula over the past 10,000 years - three times more than previously recognized.
According to KAUST, this study offers the most comprehensive list to date of large mammals from this period and establishes a benchmark for rewilding efforts in the region. It also serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, as well as the programs of the National Center for Wildlife (NCW) and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification.
"Restoration is not just about plants, for animals play a key role in vegetation communities. In highlighting which large mammals became extinct, we are providing information that will help governments decide which mammals to reintroduce in the future,” said KAUST senior project manager and contributor to the study Christopher Clarke.
During the study, researchers analyzed thousands of petroglyphs (ancient rock carvings) collected during field expeditions as well as from shared social media content, which gave researchers access to a large collection of petroglyphs unknown to the scientific community.
The study revealed that most of the 15 mammal species come from Africa, including lions and cheetahs, and identified two species never previously recorded in the Arabian Peninsula: the greater kudu and the Somali wild donkey.
This study aligns with national efforts to restore ecological balance, particularly in light of the pioneering initiatives launched by NCW, including the reintroduction programs for the Arabian oryx and the cheetah.

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Varieties

S.Africa's Iconic Protea Flower Relocates as Climate Warms

Protea flower grower Nico Thuynsma cultivates the blooms north of Johannesburg, 1,500 km (930 miles) from their natural home at the southern tip of Africa. Phill Magakoe / AFP
Protea flower grower Nico Thuynsma cultivates the blooms north of Johannesburg, 1,500 km (930 miles) from their natural home at the southern tip of Africa. Phill Magakoe / AFP
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S.Africa's Iconic Protea Flower Relocates as Climate Warms

Protea flower grower Nico Thuynsma cultivates the blooms north of Johannesburg, 1,500 km (930 miles) from their natural home at the southern tip of Africa. Phill Magakoe / AFP
Protea flower grower Nico Thuynsma cultivates the blooms north of Johannesburg, 1,500 km (930 miles) from their natural home at the southern tip of Africa. Phill Magakoe / AFP

On his farm two hours north of Johannesburg, Nico Thuynsma gestured towards thousands of orange, yellow and pink proteas in flower and thriving 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from their natural home at the southern tip of Africa.

"They're all different," the 55-year-old farmer said of the assorted blooms from the diverse Proteaceae family that has more than 350 species in South Africa, from firework-like "pincushion" varieties to delicate "blushing brides".

He picked out a majestic pink and white crown, nearly the size of his head, that has taken four years to reach its impressive size. "The King Proteas are very slow to grow," Thuynsma said.

The largest of the proteas, the King Protea, is South Africa's national flower.

It has lent its name to the national cricket team and countless brands. It features on the currency and is the logo for South Africa's presidency this year of the G20 group of leading economies, which convenes a summit in November.

It is also the country's largest flower export with more than 10 million stems sent abroad last year, worth close to 275 million rand ($15 million), according to the Cape Flora industry organization, said AFP.

Its status offers the King Protea some protection but almost half of South Africa's other protea species face extinction because of pressures on their native habitats in the mountains of the Cape, according to South Africa's National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

These include habitat loss to agriculture, the proliferation of invasive alien species and "changes to natural fire cycles", SANBI said in a 2021 report.

Icon

"People come to South Africa to see proteas," Nigel Barker, a professor in plant sciences at the University of Pretoria, told AFP. "It's the plant equivalent of the elephant or the lion."

Most proteas are endemic or semi-endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom biome of "fynbos" ("fine bush") that stretches across the southern tip of South Africa and is one of the world's richest flora biodiversity hotspots.

But climate projections predict "hotter, drier conditions", Barker said. "We'll be looking at a completely different vegetation type in the future, semi-desert almost in some places."

"Many species, because they're so range-restricted, will probably go extinct under those scenarios," he said.

"The only solution we have is to cultivate them artificially... in greenhouses or farms where you control irrigation," Barker said.

An example is Thuynsma's farm in the grasslands of the north, where he began planting proteas three decades ago.

Here, winters are dry and frosty, and the summers rainy -- conditions very different to those in the far south where the proteas are at home.

Gel for irrigation

Through trial and error, Thuynsma has been able to cultivate close to 200 protea varieties, including some long forgotten and abandoned by farmers in their original habitats.

In his latest experiment, he has planted 36 varieties with just two liters (four pints) of saturated gel for irrigation.

"I hope to unlock the power of some of these varieties," Thuynsma said. "They come from the Western Cape out of very harsh conditions, so they do have it in them."

"I learn from them, I learn with them. And, hopefully, in the future I can advise my nursery public -- and even estates -- how to plant this lovely fynbos without irrigation," he said.

"I don't think I have a solution for climate change," he joked, crouched over a small seedling in freshly turned soil. "But I do have a solution: to plant proteas."

A few meters (yards) away, in a warm nursery, thousands of protea sprouts awaited their turn in the soil.

"I love them, I protect them, I collect them," Thuynsma said. "The protea is part of South Africa's DNA."