Marsh Bulletin

The conditions of the Shatt Al-Arab River, southern Iraq, have significant effects on the nutrient
content of the River. An attempt was made to assess the status by applying Carlson’s trophic
state index (CTSI). The River was surveyed from December 2019 to November 2020. Samples
were taken from 12 stations along the course of the River. The field measurements and
laboratory analyses (total phosphorous and chlorophyll-a) indicated that the CTSI values of the
12 stations were between 43.092 and 50.393. Thus, the stations were classified between
mesotrophy and eutrophy. The CTSI values were higher at the end of the spring and summer
seasons and lowest in winter. The physicochemical parameters of the water temperature (WT)
ranged between 14.7 and 34.2 °C, pH ranged from 7.2 to 8.4, electrical conductivity ranged
between 1.62 mS/cm and 10.15 mS/cm, DO was 5.1–9.8 mg/L, SD depth transparency rate was
between 0.35 m and 0.95 m, Total phosphorus TP ranged between 2.56 mg/L and 16.05 mg/L,
and the Chlorophyll-a concentration was between 0.4 mg/L and 32.4 mg/L. The eutrophication
was significantly higher due to the direct discharges of untreated domestic, industrial and
agricultural wastewater and high salinity during the summer season, which affects CTSI
values.

Tephritidae is one of the most important economic insect’s families, most species of this family
are phytophagous and cause economic damage to crops. Some species of this family were
recorded from Baghdad and Samarra provinces; up to now, there is no study on the species
found in southern Iraq. The current study was conducted in Basrah province\'s fields to detect
this family\'s different species and host plants. The samples were collected from four regions of
Basra province from different host plants. A total of 130 Tephritid flies were collected from
four agricultural regions of Basrah province; the specimens were studied and identified in the
Entomology Laboratory of College Science, University of Basrah, photoed by sterio dissecting
microscope LEICA EZ 4HD. The samples were identified according to accurate taxonomical
keys. Three species of the family Tephritidae were identified, Goniurellia tridens, Trupanea
amoena, Trupanea stellata.

An environmental survey was conducted during the years 2020-2021 to study the impact of
environmental factors on the coverage prestige and the biomass of aquatic plants in four sites
in the Euphrates River in Al-Muthanna Governorate. Water temperature, pH, electrical
conductivity, light transmittance, and dissolved oxygen were measured as environmental
factors for water samples, and 13 aquatic plant species were recorded in the study stations. The
results of the study recorded the highest values of plant coverage for Phragmites australis,
Ceratophyllum demersum, Eichhornia crassipes and Potageton crispus, which amounted to
45%, 32%, 28%, and 22%, respectively, and the lowest vegetation cover was for Azolla
filiculoides, which amounted to 12%, and Typha domingensis, which amounted to 5%, while
were the highest values of the biomass of the dominant and most abundant aquatic plants during
winter and summer for. Eichhornia crassipes and Ceratophyllum demersum, respectively
714.26 gm dry weight/m2
and 902.73 gm dry weight/m2
during summer, while Phragmites
australis showed the highest value of biomass in the winter season, which was 978.51 g dry
weight \\ m2
.

A study of the Abu Al-Khasib River was conducted to show the state of the River and its
impact on various pollutants, including heavy elements in its sediments, starting from the
Lakta area and ending at its connection point with the Shatt Al-Arab. The study period
extended from September 2020 to February 2021. Five heavy elements were estimated
(Iron, Copper, Lead, Cadmium, and Chromium) in the sediments, and the heavy elements
were extracted by standard methods using atomic absorption spectrometry. The results
proved that the rates of heavy metals concentrations in the Sediments took the following
order: (Iron> Copper >Chromium > Lead > Cadmium). Its concentration ranged between
(1118-3731,0.234-1.450,0.897-1.428,0.015-0.256,0.001-0.009) μg\\\\g dry weight,
respectively. When comparing our results with previous studies, we find that all the values
of the elements were among their predecessors, except for iron, which recorded higher
values than what was recorded by previous studies. This increase is attributed to industrial
activities, especially minerals, in addition to its presence in the soil, as it is the most abundant
element in the earth’s crust, in addition to the frequent dumping of wastes that contain iron
in its composition. Pollution evidence was also calculated, and the results showed the
highest value of the Geo Accumulation Index (I geo). Iron reached (0.0207); the study also
recorded the highest value of the Enrichment factor (EF) for copper (2.515) and also
recorded the highest value of the Contamination factor (CF) for iron (0.074). We conclude
that the study area is classified as locally contaminated with iron and not contaminated with
the other elements.

In this paper, we concentrated on the study of the ability of fungi to produce
antimicrobials and the effect of some environmental parameters on it. For that reason, the
fungus Talaromyces funiculosus was isolated from the soil and screened for its antimicrobials
production against four pathogenic bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus) by disk diffusion method with studying the effect of
(pH, temperature and carbon source) on its growth as well as the production of
antimicrobials. The results showed that the secondary metabolites of the fungus Talaromyces
funiculosus have potent activity against gram-negative and positive bacteria. The results of
the first week showed inhibition for all tested bacteria; the fungal extract after one week of
incubation period will able to inhibit all tested bacteria; the largest inhibition zone was 15mm
found against P. aeruginosa and 13mm against B. subtilis . In contrast, the fungal extract
extracted after 2 and 3 weeks of incubation showed inhibition activity against only grampositive bacteria. The largest inhibition zone of B. subtilis was found at 20mm in the second
week, and the largest inhibition zone of S. aureus was found at 21mm in the third week. The
results showed that the temperature 30 °C, the pH 6, and the carbon source maltose were the
best for producing antimicrobials.

This study determined that soil pollutants considered widespread, available, and
toxic to the environment include cadmium, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, copper, iron,
lead, zinc, and arsenic. For this study, seven areas were selected in Basra
governorate, including Safwan, Juaibda, Rumaila, Nahran Umer, Al-Najibiya, Abu
al-Khaseeb, and Karmat Ali (Garden of the College of Science). Some soil factors
were estimated, such as pH, salinity, total organic carbon, and soil texture. The
highest value for pH was 8.21 at Karmat Ali, and the lowest value, 7.75, was
detected at Juaibda, where the alkalinity of soil was available for all locations. As
to salinity, the highest was 41.984 mg/l at the Nihran Umer location and the lowest
at Juaibda at 2.854 mg/l, and values of the total organic carbon for soils were
distinguished at the Abu al-Khaseeb location, where the highest values were
detected at 0.27 mg/l and the lowest at 0.03 mg/l at Juaibda. The results showed a
significant variance in the accumulation of pollutants for soils under study, where
the highest values for Al, Ni, Fe, Cu, Pb, Co, Mn, Zn, and arsenic were 546.3, 81.67,
15739, 26, 20, 39.8, 87, 476.32 and 3.39 ppm respectively at Abu al-Khaseeb
location. It was the most contaminated area. As to cadmium, the highest value was
at 2.44 ppm at the Rumaila location, lead registered the highest value at 39.8 ppm
at Safwan, and magnesium registered the highest value at 476.32 ppm at Rumaila.
The lowest values were found at Juaibda, such as aluminum, iron, and copper at
151.88, 2911, and 5.8 ppm, respectively. The lowest accumulation for nickel was
11.46 ppm at the Najibiya location, cobalt was at 3.9 ppm at the Rumaila location,
zinc and arsenic 56 and 0.36 ppm respectively at Safwan, and manganese was the
lowest at 221 ppm at Najibiya. Besides.

The Present study focused on the census of waterbirds in three temporary rain pools in
Basrah Province, namely Abu Al-Khaseeb, Hamdan, and Al- Kuzayza. The study lasted
for two months, March and April of 2019. During the study period, 722 individuals of
waterbirds belonging to eleven species were recorded, divided into two orders and five
families. The order of Charadriiformes occupied the first rank with ten species: Charadrius
alexandrinus, Vanellus indicus, Philomachus pugnax , Tringa cinereus, Tringa nebularia
and Sterna albifrons. As for the second order Ciconiformes, only one species Egretta
garzetta has been recorded. In addition, relative abundance, diversity, richness, evenness,
and dominance indices have been calculated.