Structure and ecological indices of the fish assemblage of the recently restored Al-Hammar Marsh, southern Iraq

Abstract

Th e aim of the present study is to determine the species composition, the structure of the fi sh assemblages, and to develop ecological indices in the restored east Al-Hammar Marsh. Fish were collected from October 2005 to September 2006 at two stations (Mansoury and Burkah). Fish samples contained freshwater species, both native and alien, and marine species. Th irty-one species were collected, eleven of them marine, the rest freshwater. Native species numbered 14 (45%), alien species 6 (19%) and marine species 11 (36%). Resident species formed 32.2%, seasonal species 16.0% and occasional species 51.6% of the fauna. Th e abundance of species varied, Liza abu being the most dominant species, with Carassius auratus ranking second and Acanthobrama marmid ranking third, comprising 35.8%, 23.6% and 10.6% respectively. Ecological indices were as follows: diversity ranged from 1.07 in November to 2.01 in July, richness ranged from 0.74 in December to 2.83 in July, and evenness ranged from 0.48 in November to 0.84 in December. Th e highest monthly similarity was in May at 77% and lowest in December at 29%. Water temperature showed medium correlations (0.62 and 0.58) with both the number of species and the total catch, respectively, while salinity exhibited weak positive correlations (0.05 and 0.26) with both the number and the total catch of species, respectively. Temperature is related to species number, presumably as a surrogate for many other seasonal changes.

Occurrence and Abundance of Fish Larvae in the restored Mesopotamian Marshlands, Southern Iraq

“…The fish habitat of the southern marshes could be described as limnophilic derived mainly from the lower reaches of Tigris and Euphrates rivers with few eurytopic strays (Mohamed et al, 2008;and Hussain et al, 2009). The fish community of the southern marshes marked by the dominance of two fish species, the first was native (L. abu) and the second was alien (C. auratus) as indicated by Hussain et al (2008), Mohamed et al (2008) and Hussain et al (2009).…”

“…The fish community of the southern marshes marked by the dominance of two fish species, the first was native (L. abu) and the second was alien (C. auratus) as indicated by Hussain et al (2008), Mohamed et al (2008) and Hussain et al (2009).…”

Effects of mesopotamian marsh (iraq) desiccation on the cultural knowledge and livelihood of marsh arab women

“…Fish production in the Iraq inland waters declined by 50% between 1997 and 2002, and continues to decline (FAO-Iraq 2010). Negative impacts to fisheries in the Hammar Marsh are exacerbated by invasive species and elevated water salinity levels in the Marshes (Hussain and Alwan 2008, Hussain et al 2009, Jawad et al 2012, Al-Faisal and Mutlak 2014.…”

STOCK ASSESSMENT OF FRESHWATER MULLET, Liza abu (HECKEL, 1843) POPULATIONS IN THREE RESTORED SOUTHERN MARSHES, IRAQ

“…Sampling was carried out using seine net (20 m long with a 2.5 cm mesh), fixed gill nets (500 to 100 m long with 25 mm to 100 mm mesh size) and electro-fishing gears (Hussain et al, 2009;Mohamed et al, 2008Mohamed et al, , 2012a. Fishes were individually identified, counted and measured.…”