The fragile ecology in Iraq’s Mesopotamian marshlands endangered and restructured by a sharp increase in salinity
1 Department of Ecology, College of Science, University of Basrah, Iraq.
2 Development Alternative, Inc., Bethesda, MD20895, USA.
Research Article
GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 16(01), 007–018.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscarr.2023.16.1.0298
Publication history:
Received on 27 May 2023; revised on 05 July 2023; accepted on 08 July 2023
Abstract:
In southern Iraq, the Mesopotamian marshes have suffered for decades from a decrease in freshwater input from both rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The Shatt Al-Arab River and East Hammar marsh in southern Iraq were affected by a salt wedge that advanced from the Arabian Gulf during July and August 2018, causing a rapid and sharp increase in salinity levels. A monthly monitoring program has revealed an invasion of saltwater species from the Gulf accompanied by the disappearance of native species of freshwater. Seven submerged aquatic plant species disappeared. Thus, the number of freshwater phytoplankton species decreases. It was found that the quality and quantity of small zooplankton significantly changed, resulting in the disappearance of many freshwater species, and the number of freshwater mollusks significantly decreased. A marsh was invaded by two species of marine shrimp that were previously unrecorded, and native freshwater fish species were drastically affected. East Hammar’s fragile ecology is rapidly shifting from oligosaline to estuarine, devastating an important environmental resource and endangering a culturally unique setting.
Keywords:
East Hammar marsh; Habitat deterioration; Invasive marine species; Marsh habitat; Salinity increase
Full text article in PDF:
Copyright information:
Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
