Advancing oyster habitat mapping: Integrating satellite remote sensing to assess coastal development impacts in northern United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a coastline of more than 1000 km, hosts diverse and valuable marine ecosystems including oyster beds. Coastal development in the region, including construction, reclamation, shipping, wastewater discharge, and tourism growth, has negatively impacted oyster habitats. The objective of this study was to analyze the impacts of coastal urban development on probable oyster habitats from 2018 to 2023 in Northern UAE (Sharjah, Ajman and Umm al Quwain) using atmospherically corrected satellite imagery collected from Sentinel 2A/B. To map the oyster locations, the Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI) alongside water body mapping techniques was used, while a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was adopted to visualize growth patterns in coastal urban areas. Our results show that the oyster habitat declined from the initial maximum of 10.30 km² in 2018 to a minimum of 3.02 km² in 2023, while urban areas concurrently increased over this period from 275 km² in 2018 to 475 km² in 2023. There was a significant negative correlation between coastal urban area and the oyster habitat area (R² = 0.80). Additionally, a logistic regression analysis was used to identify further biophysical and anthropogenic factors conducive to oyster growth. Our results show that generalized urbanization and coastal development is a persistent driver of probable oyster habitat loss and degradation in the northern UAE. The expansion of urbanization and coastal infrastructure development underscores the need for sustainable urban planning practices that prioritize ecological preservation alongside societal progress.