Marsh Bulletin

Due to the Iraq enjoys suitable aquatic habitats, such as marshes, moderate climatic
conditions during the winter season, and a strategic geographical location, as it is located at
the concourse of bird migration routes. Therefore, a number of them visit it, or passing
through its aquatic habitats, especially ducks, geese, and swans. This study aimed to
highlighting this important group of birds due to their economic and environmental value,
which exposes them to many risk factors that threaten it in the wild. The present study
comprised in total 23 species of ducks, geese and swans, where included nine species of
dabbling duck (feeding ducks- surface) and six species of diving ducks, in addition to five
species of geese. Furthermore, included three species of swans. The study concluded that six
species of ducks, geese and swans are significant conservation priorities in Iraq. They are
red- listed by the IUCN Red List, of which one species is Endangered (EN), and three species
are Vulnerable (VU) and two species are Near Threatened (NT). This study also included an
explanation of the status of these birds in the Mesopotamian marshlands of southern Iraq, as
well as their habitat.

Monthly occurrence of Caspian turtle Mauremys caspica caspica and Euphrates soft shell
turtle Rafetus euphraticus in the West Hammer marsh was monitored from October 2021 to
September 2022.Three Stations were chosen in the marsh: eastern Al Manar, northern Al Fhood, and
western Al Tar. Salinity has a negative effect on the number of both species, as shown at the AlManar station. Low water temperatures had a significant effect on the number of R. euphraticus
individuals in the marsh. The highest and lowest total numbers of M. capsica were recorded in Al
Fhood 47 and Al Tar 21, respectively. For R. euphraticus, the highest and lowest numbers were 24
and six in Al Fhood and Al Tar, respectively. The highest and lowest monthly numbers recorded for
M. capsica were 13 and three in October and May. The highest monthly numbers of R. euphraticus
were recorded in June was 7, and the lowest in December, January, February, and April was 2. The
western station Al Fhood represent the best habitat for both M. caspica capsica and R.euphraticus in
West Hammar marsh on the contrary

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) are persistent, toxic, bioaccumulative, and widely distributed
in the environment because of their high stability and tendency to accumulate in the bodies of
living organisms, causing serious health effects. Sediment samples were collected from the
southern part of the Tigris River from Autumn,2022 to Summer,2023 to investigate their
occurrence and determine the concentrations of PCB compounds. Twelve PCB compounds were
identified in Tigris River sediments: PCB153, PCB149, PCB141, PCB138, PCB101, PCB52,
PCB44, PCB31, PCB28, PCB18, PCB194, and PCB189. A dioxin-like PCB compound was also
observed (PCB189). The concentrations of total PCBs in sediment samples ranged from (11.00
ng/g dry weight) during autumn to (38.26 ng/g dry weight) during the summer season, which was
highest in the upper station compared to the lower stations, which may be due to human activities,
household waste, and neighboring agricultural lands that use fertilizers and pesticides as sources
of PCBs compounds

In this research, we studied the multiple correlations between climate elements (maximum and
minimum temperatures, rainfall, percentage of humidity, and evaporation) for the time periods from
(1984-2022) obtained from the meteorological and seismic station in Baghdad and the meteorological
station in Al-Hussein neighborhood, and their relationship to the presence of natural plants through...
The number of plants according to their development in the environment (mosses, ferns,
gymnosperms, and angiosperms), as well as according to their presence in the environment, including
desert, saline, aquatic, and parasitic plants for the time periods (1964-2022), based on the Iraqi
Botanical Encyclopedia, the environment and plants of Basra, and the researcher’s field trips. It was
noted that the trend line for the presence of plants in the environment of Basrah province fluctuated
from high to low in recent years, with the highest recorded for dicotyledonous plants, followed by
monocot plants, and that desert plants are more widespread and abundant than the rest of the
environments studied. It was also noted from the results of the multiple correlation that most of the
plant groups were associated with the maximum temperature with a very weak positive relationship,
compared with a negative inverse relationship with evapotranspiration. As for rain and humidity,
only the correlation relationship was high and positive, except for the parasitic plants whose
relationship with the studied climatic elements was negative.

This study investigated the presence and predatory efficiency of Staphylinidae beetles in relation to
aphid populations. Field observations revealed that Philonthus reached its peak number of 2.5 on March
1st, while Atheta and aphid populations peaked at 1.4 and 27.7, respectively, on February 1st. A positive
correlation (R = 0.2) was found between aphid numbers and Atheta, whereas Philonthus exhibited a
negative correlation (R = -0.5). Laboratory experiments demonstrated that Atheta's predation efficiency
declined as prey density increased, with the highest and lowest means of prey consumed being 7.7 and
4.6 at prey densities of 20 and 5, respectively. The predation efficiency of Atheta was negative and
showed no significant differences with increasing prey numbers, dropping to -0.2 and -0.3 at prey
densities of 10 and 20, respectively. Conversely, Philonthus displayed significant increases in prey
consumption with higher prey densities, with the highest mean at 13.4 and the lowest at 9.4 for prey
densities of 20 and 10, respectively. These findings provide insights into the predatory dynamics of
Staphylinidae beetles and their potential role in biological control.

Abstract Merops spp. is one of the important bee predators, so the beekeepers try to control it in
different ways, some of the methods are physical that are non-lethal to the bird and are not harmful to
the environment, and others are lethal or environmentally harmful. In this review, we discussed the most
important physical and chemical methods used in this field, with an indication of some banned pesticides
that are used by beekeepers, and an illustration of their environmental hazard

In the coagulation-flocculation process, the use of plant-based coagulants in wastewater treatment
has advanced towards a green economy and cleaner industry. Due to their inherent qualities and
natural degradability, plant-based coagulants have the potential to serve as significant alternatives to
the chemical coagulants commonly used in industry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the
efficiency of extracting leaf powder from seven selected native plants, namely Albizia lebbeck L.,
Azadirachta indica, Conocarpus lancifolius, Dianthus caryophyllus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis,
Nerium oleander, and Phoenix dactylifera. Various doses of each plant-based coagulant powder were
added to separate flasks, with doses ranging from 0 g/L (serving as a control), 0.5 g/L, 1 g/L, 3 g/L, 5
g/L, and 10 g/L. The experiment was conducted using a jar test with a fast-mixing speed of 180 rpm
for 5 minutes, followed by a slow mixing speed of 50 rpm for 15 minutes. The optimal doses of 0.5 g
and 1 g were identified for the removal of turbidity. The results of this study indicate the potential of
using plant leaves as biocoagulants for raw water treatment.

One day’s goby, Acentrogobius dayi, was collected from a section of the Shatt Al-Arab River in
southern Iraq (30° 28' 25.3812″’ ‘N 47° 54' 11.448 ‘’ E), approximately 80 km north of the Arabian
Gulf coast. This study is the first to record A. dayi in the Shatt River. Twenty morphological and meristic
characters, including total length (mm), standard length (mm), body depth (mm), and others, were
recorded.

Aquatic habitats are contaminated by harmful, persistent organic pollutants called polychlorinated
biphenyls, or PCBs. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the distribution of PCBs in two common
aquatic plants from the East Hammar Marsh in southern Iraq: Phragmites australis and Typha
domingensis. Seasonally, the plants were harvested from five locations between winter 2021 and autumn
2022. Using GC-MS, samples were extracted and examined for 19 PCB congeners. Seasonal
fluctuations were noted in the total PCB values, which varied from 0.01-2.95 ng/g and 0.02-4.55 ng/g
dry weight in Phragmites and Typha, respectively. According to plant physiology, mean ΣPCB levels
were lowest in the summer (0.16 ng/g in Phragmites; 0.21 ng/g in Typha) and highest in the spring (1.29
ng/g in Phragmites; 2.29 ng/g in Typha). Overall, Typha had a greater mean annual accumulation of
ΣPCBs (3.17 ng/g) than Phragmites (2.57 ng/g). The findings indicate PCB contamination in Iraqi
marshes, with uptake varying seasonally and by plant species. This study provides baseline data on PCBs
in Iraqi marsh plants for future biomonitoring and phytoremediation research.

This study aimed to evaluate bird diversity in Al Malih Marshland and identify endangered species
in Babylon, Iraq from June 2022 to May 2023. A total of 117 species were documented in Al Malih
Wetland, representing 17 orders and 38 families, with 7 species listed on the IUCN Red List. Relative
abundance varied from 8.628% to 0.011%. Simpson diversity index ranged from 0.965 to 0.897, while
Shannon–Weiner diversity index ranged from 3.711 to 2.894. Evenness index ranged from 0.979 to
0.768, and Richness index (Margalef) ranged from 12.25 to 4.19. Dominance index ranged from 0.291
to 0.072. The avian population appears semi-balanced, with moderate community status. In conclusion,
the area's high diversity underscores its significance, warranting further research to designate it as an
Important Bird Area (IBA), akin to others in Iraq.