Gabriele Natalizia and Lorenzo Termine lay out an innovative framework to analyze the trajectory of the current foreign policy of the People's Republic of China. As it stands, it suffers from serious conceptual ambiguities and generates a set of categories that is too large to guide empirical research. After revision, however, the framework that Natalizia and Termine propose can be deployed to elucidate Beijing's behavior in various parts of the world, most notably the Persian Gulf.

Few systematic investigations of Palaeolithic occupation have been carried out in southern Iran. Here, the authors present the first report from a systematic Palaeolithic survey of a region north of the Strait of Hormuz, providing ample evidence for hominin presence in this area since the Lower Palaeolithic.

Sea urchins have important effects on marine ecosystems such as rocky shores and coral reefs across the world. However, species diversity and molecular phylogeny of most echinoid taxa are poorly known in Iran. In this study, the phylogenetic relationships of one of the most abundant species of the genus Echinometra in the Persian Gulf were examined. Echinoids were collected from the intertidal zone of Qeshm Island and Lengeh Port on March and December 2017. Morphological criteria based on valid identification keys combined with molecular analysis of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) protein-coding gene were used to delineate Echinometra species. Our analyses showed that all specimens (N = 15) belong to Echinometra sp. EZ. Tree topologies indicated that our individuals from two sampling sites formed a distinct monophyletic clade with E. sp. EZ, demonstrating high support values. This is the first phylogenetic analysis of E. sp. EZ from Iran.

The aim of this work was to describe and compare the main fatty acids and biodiesel indices of some green and brown macroalgae (seaweeds) collected from the Persian Gulf, as an alternative raw material for renewable biodiesel production. The macroalgae showed low lipid content (< 10% DW) but marine macroalgae with total lipid content > 5% DW are a good source for biodiesel production. The total lipid content and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) of green algae were higher than that of brown algae, while higher accumulation of unsaturated fatty acids (USFAs) was observed in brown seaweeds. Further, the main fatty acid in all studied seaweeds was palmitic acid (C16:0), which was followed by oleic acid (C18:1). The results of this work showed that three of the green algae, especially C. sertularioides, could be a potential source of fatty acids for biodiesel production owing to their high total lipid content, high cold flow indices (long chain saturated factor, cold filter plugging point and cloud point) and a fatty acid profile rich in SFAs with a high amount of C18:1, which is suitable for oil-based bio products. In contrast, the brown seaweeds Sargassum boveanum and Sirophysalis trinodis lipid content had a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which makes them suitable for replacing fish oil.

Evolution and population genetic structure of marine species across the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman are shaped by two complex factors: the geological history and the present pattern of marine currents. Characterizing and comparing the genetic structures of co-existing species, such as host–parasite associations, allow the discrimination of the relative importance of environmental factors and life history traits that influenced gene flow and demographic events. In this study, we compare two associated Clausidium copepod species (C. persiaensis Sepahvand & Kihara 2017 and C. iranensis Sepahvand, Kihara & Boxshall 2019) along the south coast of Iran in two geological settings. We analysed partial nucleotide sequences of the mtCOI gene using divergence estimates (FST) and haplotype networks to infer intraspecific population connectivity in the two Gulfs. The results obtained demonstrate the existence of two genetically and geographically distinct clades, corresponding to the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman populations. Our results also indicate high diversity, population expansion and high connectivity among populations of C. persiaensis and C. iranensis in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

In response to perceived, but unknown variation among the size selection of narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) by artisanal gillnetters off Iran, and the need for such data to control exploitation as a precursor to balanced harvesting, the effects of two common mesh sizes (130 and 140 mm stretched mesh opening made from multifilament twine) on catches were investigated over one fishing year (nine months encompassing autumn to spring). Both mesh sizes mostly caught S. commerson at fork lengths (FL) larger than mean sizes at maturity (>67 cm), with the mean size selection incrementally increasing in the 130-mm mesh gillnet from autumn, and especially during spring. The greater selection occurred concurrent with an increasing condition factor (CF) among S. commerson, which typically spawn in late spring/early summer. Conversely, the relative size-selection of the 140-mm mesh gillnet decreased in spring, attributed to increasing CF precluding the capture of larger fish. Such seasonal variation in size selection might be countered by increasing mesh size to ~145 or 150 mm in spring. However, the existing 140-mm mesh might positively affect stock biomass by allowing larger, more fecund fish to avoid capture during spawning. The data support the strong influence of biological and environmental factors on gillnet size selection, which might also extend to other migratory, pelagic species.

In this article, I make the claim that the time has come to re-situate the Gulf historically as part of the Indian Ocean world rather than the terrestrial Middle East. I explore the historical potential of thinking “transregionally” – of what it means to more fully weave the history of the Gulf into that of the Indian Ocean, and what the ramifications are for orienting it away from the terrestrially-grounded literature in which it has long been situated. The promise of an oceanic history, I argue, is both academic and political: first, it opens up the possibilities of new narratives for the Gulf’s past, suggesting new periodizations, fruitful avenues of historical inquiry, and new readings of old sources. But more than that, an oceanic history of the Gulf allows historians to push against the discourses of nativism that have pervaded the public sphere in the Gulf States.

Iranian coastal fishers targeting narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) recently replaced their historical multifilament gillnets with those made from monofilament, evoking management concerns over potential increases in catch-per-unit-of-effort. During 20 fishing days, we compared catches from replicate surface-set gillnets that were identical in terms of mesh size (140 mm stretched opening), length (180 m), depth (30 m), hanging ratio (0.56) and spatio-temporal deployment, but had different materials: multifilament (1.8-mm diameter twisted twine) vs monofilament (0.8-mm diameter twine). Compared with the multifilament gillnet, there was a trend of greater catches (up to 1.3×) of S. commerson and another retained species, mackerel tuna (Euthnus affinis), along with one discarded species, giant catfish (Netuma thalassina) by the monofilament gillnet. However, statistical significance was restricted to E. affinis catches and a bias towards smaller S. commerson. These differences were attributed to species-specific catching mechanisms within gillnet material, with larger S. commerson retained by their teeth in the multifilament and all E. affinis more securely retained by their deeper bodies in the monofilament. Gillnet materials require regulation to preclude excessive effort on fully exploited stocks of species such as S. commerson.

Coral communities of the Persian Gulf (PG) withstand maximum and annual ranges of water temperatures that surpass those found on the majority of reefs elsewhere. As such, these communities may inform on how coral reefs might adapt to the warmer waters of the future. Depending on the algal symbiont (genus Symbiodinium) harboured, advantages in stress tolerance may be conferred to the coral holobiont. Characterizing the algal component is therefore critical in determining the coral holobiont's tolerance phenotype. Coral associations off the Arabian coastline of the PG have been characterized as biogeographically unique, containing a rare group of taxonomically ancestral and thermotolerant algal symbionts, the Symbiodinium thermophilum group. In contrast, waters off the Iranian coast remain poorly characterized with a notable lack of S. thermophilum group symbionts identified in coral associations to date. Here, we characterize the algal component of two reef building corals (Porites harrisoni and Cyphastrea microphthalma) predominant at three sites spanning almost the entire length of the PG's Iranian coast. Genotyping using the chloroplastic 23S and nuclear ITS2 genes, we demonstrate the presence of S. thermophilum group symbionts. We discuss the probable physical drivers of these associations and highlight the need for further research in these relatively understudied waters.

Accurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal evolution. Inliers of shallow marine limestone and aeolianite are exposed as zeugen (carbonate-capped erosional remnants) on the southern coast of the Arabian/Persian Gulf. These have generally been accepted as evidence of a eustatically driven, last-interglacial relative sea-level highstand preceded by a penultimate glacial-age lowstand. Instead, recent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests a last glacial age for these deposits, requiring >100 m of uplift since the last glacial maximum in order to keep pace with eustatic sea-level rise and implying the need for a wholesale revision of tectonic, stratigraphic and sea-level histories of the Gulf. These two hypotheses have radically different implications for regional neotectonics and land–sea distribution histories. Here we test these hypotheses using OSL dating of the zeugen formations. These new ages are remarkably consistent with earlier interpretations of the formations being last interglacial or older in age, showing that tectonic movements are negligible and eustatic sea-level variations are responsible for local sea-level changes in the Gulf. The cause of the large age differences between recent studies is unclear, although it appears related to large differences in the measured accumulated dose in different OSL samples.