Foreign pets in wadis pose serious risk to local wildlife

Dubai: Releasing pets into the wild after they have grown too big for their owners has dire effects on the biodiversity of the UAE's endemic wadis.

Species of African fish or terrapins from Florida have been found in a wadi in Fujairah, which has alarmed environmentalists as the damage caused by these pets could be far greater than initially estimated.

Viruses like salmonella can easily be spread if nothing is done to eradicate certain invasive species from a habitat that is not their own, said Christophe Tourenq, science and research manager of the Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF.

Today is World Biodiversity Day, a United Nations awareness day held every year on May 22.

Protection

Tilapia fish, usually introduced to eat mosquito larvae, have been seen in wadi Wurrayah in Fujairah, an area currently awaiting federal protection by decree. A red-eared slider, or terrapin, was also found by researcher Emma Smart from the Wadi Fish Project.

"Predators or diseases that keep invasive species under control in their own habitat often don't exist in foreign habitats, which is why they flourish.

"Tilapia have probably been introduced by weekenders to give themselves something to fish," said Smart.

Tourenq added: "I imagine they were released with good intentions but terrapins in wadi pools could eat all wadi fish. Luckily, despite being a female, the terrapin we found was not fertile and did not lay eggs."

"Animals take decades to adapt to the harsh environment here but in a year an endemic species can be destroyed by an alien species," he said.

According to Tourenq, 15 species of introduced ants have been recorded in the UAE so far, probably through soil brought in with foreign plants.

"The Singapore ant, the Samsum ant and the ginger or tropical fire ant can pose serious risks to public health in terms of causing allergies and creating nuisance pests."

There are voluntary invasions caused by people returning with saplings in their luggage and involuntary invasions caused, for example, by tankers emptying their ballast waters placing marine organism in foreign seas.

"The introduction of the American comb jelly to the Black and Azov Seas in the early 1980s caused the near extinction of anchovy and sprat stocks and the collapse of local fisheries," said Tourenq.

The accidental introduction of the brown rat and house mouse on some islands of the Arabian Gulf during the building of oil exploitation facilities, has, in some cases, called for the introduction of domestic cats as a way to control the rodents.

The non-native cats now threaten the unique biodiversity of the islands of the Arabian Gulf, which are home to nearly 40 per cent of all UAE bird species.

Predators or diseases that keep invasive species under control in their own habitat often don't exist in foreign habitats."