WCM-Q students study biodiversity on Purple Island

Doha, Qatar: First year pre medical students at Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar (WCM Q) in February explored Qatar s rich biodiversity during a field tri...

Doha, Qatar: First-year pre-medical students at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) in February explored Qatar’s rich biodiversity during a field trip to the mangrove forest at Jazirat Bin Ghannam, also known as Purple Island.

Divided into three groups, the students visited the island on three separate days, where they identified and collected invertebrates and observed how local flora and fauna have adapted to the environment.

Under the supervision of Dr. Kuei-Chiu Chen, a professor of biology at WCM-Q, the students collected invertebrate animals and brought the specimens to WCM-Q’s state-of-the-art laboratory. There, they will process the tissue samples and extract deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences from selected genes, which will then be used to identify the species.

The students identified various marine invertebrates, including clams, snails, crabs, sponges, moss animals, segmented worms, sea stars, and shrimp, all of which lack a backbone. To minimize the impact on the animal population, each pair of students collected only one specimen.

In addition to marine life, the students studied plant species found on the island, including gray mangrove (Avicennia marina), Zygophyllum qatarense, and glaucous glasswort (Arthrocaulon macrostachyum), all of which are adapted to the dry environment near the sea and can tolerate salt.