Abstracts 1 - 10 of the papers from the
First Scientific Conference on the Rehabilitation of the Southern Iraq Marshes
Basrah, Iraq 11 - 12 April 2005

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Some Preliminary Indicators of Marsh Rehabilitation Impact on Fishery Biology

Thamer S. Ali, Falah M. Mutlak, and Muna T. Khudair
Dept. Marine Vertebrates, Marine Science Centre, University of Basrah

ABSTRACT

The present study is part of a stock assessment program on marsh fishes, concerned with some preliminary indicators to clarify the impact of rehabilitation on fish biology in the Huwaiza, Basrah and Central Marshes. During the first steps of sampling, 30 species have been recorded, including 7 marine species (river shad, yellow-fin seabream, white fish, anchovy and three mullet species). Most of these species were recorded in Basrah Marsh (27), while 17 species each were recorded in the Huwaiza and Central Marshes. The samples were dominated by Liza abu, Barbus luteus, Carassius auratus, C. carassius and Alburnus sp. The preliminary indicators of reproductive biology, maturation stage and ichthyoplankton abundance appear to be a positive sign for restoring the biological role of the marshes as a spawning and nursery ground. Many larvae of L. abu and carp species were collected particularly during March and April. Although the growth parameters have not been determined, the initial length frequency data of L. abu, B. luteus, C. auratus, Heteropneustus fossilis and Mastacembelus mastacembelus could be extrapolated to lengths approaching the L8 for each species. Cohort analyses by the FiSAT II program revealed that there are different age structures for most fish species. The food habits exhibited similar food component patterns in comparison with studies carried out in the 1980's for L. abu, B. luteus and Cyprinus carpio. This study clarifies the restoration of food availability of different items in this region that give an advantage for feeding specialization.

This work was done to evaluate the trace element concentrations in the water of the Basrah marshes. Samples were taken from the study area from November 2004 to March 2005. pH, conductivity, salinity, and turbidity were measured with portable instruments. Trace element concentrations were detected with an atomic absorption instrument.

A survey was conducted concerning the number of Iraqi marsh families that had returned to Iraq after having been refugees in Iran. According to a structured questionnaire that has already been prepared, the survey determined:

1. Information about the date of leaving Iraq, place of settlement in Iran, and date of return to Iraq.

2. Type of resettlement place after return.

3. The sex, age, and occupation of the paterfamiliases and their marital status.

4. The average number of family members, their age distribution, place of birth, and education.

5. Specific problems faced by families.

6. It was found that half of the families surveyed had received medical services through the AMAR International Charitable Foundation during their period of refuge.

One of the important aspects of rehabilitating the southern Iraqi marshlands is assessing the health and quality of the palustrine environment. The southern Iraqi marshes were impacted by a wide spectrum of pollutants. The human inhabitants of the Marshes, their domestic animals, and the entire aquatic ecosystem were either directly or indirectly affected via the food chain. Many components of marsh ecology might be affected even if they were exposed only to negligible concentrations of these substances; in particular, micro algae, which represent the primary producers in the nutrition pyramid. There are three non-highlighted sources of toxicants: 1) Use of pesticides in fishing and capturing birds. These pesticides are mainly chlorine or phosphorus compounds, with a small percentage of compounds of heavy metals. All of them are toxic to living organisms, especially in the primary growth stages. 2) Carcinogenic agents, including runoff from parts of the marsh areas bombed by chemical weapons in the Iraqi-Iranian war from 1980-1988. These chemicals (characterized by low degradability) may transfer to man via the food chain. These pollutants include: a) Thousands of tonnes of dissolved poisonous chemicals from manufacture of military hardware. b) Industrial and domestic effluent from cities and towns located upstream on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries. There is a need to form a team of experts in toxicology and hazardous chemical waste, and also to increase ecological knowledge and public awareness of these dangers.

In spite of the huge quantity of fish information cited in the scientific literature and other publications, there is no centralized information system to arrange and save this information. Moreover, the data on Iraqi fish species in the global fish-base online is incomplete. We therefore collected all the information about this topic and designed a form by using the Microsoft Access database program. We counted 522 registered Iraqi fish species, including all introduced species except Carassius auratus; these species belong to 281 genera, 111 families and 20 orders. Sixty-six species inhabit fresh water, 440 were marine species, and 16 of them inhabit both fresh and salt water. There are many differences in scientific nomenclature, local names, and status that need to be resolved. We aim to compile these data and publish them on line on the Marine Science Centre web site in the next stage of this project.

The study included a collection of specimens of land snails from farms near the southern Iraqi marshes. These specimens were sent to the British Museum to be preserved and classified. The relationship between the total length of the animal and wet weight, dry weight, ash free dry weight and weight of ash were found. This study also included a description of the habitat of these snails, the way by which they breathe and their reproductive strategies. These land snails are very important from an economical aspect because they damage economically important vegetables such as white beet, lettuce, leek and celery. Farmers have routinely been using insecticides to destroy these snails.

Specimens of the shrimp Metapenaeus affinis were collected from the Basrah Marshes. Chitin was isolated from the shrimp's shell and was transformed to Chitosan by deacetylation. Then the transformed chitin samples were cross lined with pectic acid by using glutaraldehyde. The extracted samples were then loaded with Nalidixic acid to decrease the rate of passage of this extracted drug through the urinary tract. This makes it possible to use this drug for infections other than urinary tract infections. This indicates the possible potential pharmaceutical power of this substance.

Lethal toxicity tests were conducted by exposing the mosquito fish Gambusia affinis from the Shatt Al-Arab River to different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 2, and 4 ml/l) of refinery products (kerosene, gasoline, and motor oil) for 24 hours under laboratory conditions. The median lethal concentration LC-50 values indicated that mosquito fish were more sensitive to gasoline than to kerosene, and least sensitive to motor oil.

The people of the Iraqi marshes suffered a great deal for many years because of the policy of the past regime. For more than ten years, their houses and farms were destroyed, they were forced to leave their areas and flee to other locations, and many of them were killed and arrested. They are now living in an area extending from Shalhat al-Dweb in the south to the al-Iz river in the north and from Shatt-al-Arab in the east to al-Zubair in the west. This field study includes a map showing the present distribution of marsh communities, their populations, their economic activities, and all the areas currently filled or unfilled with water. In order to restore the marshes in this area, we must remove mines and exploded and unexploded bombs because a large part of those areas is used for animal husbandry. Some of these areas were damaged because of the presence of mines. Moreover, the marshes need a substantial quantity of water to refill and these quantities may take many years in order to fill. Some of the difficulty in restoring the marshes is the result of international decisions about the upstream water supply from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It is impossible to let the marsh people return to their homes without health centers, clean, potable water, electricity, paved streets, and other modern amenities. The people are also looking for jobs and need adequate training for some professions adequate with their educational and scientific level.

The present study deals with the gill surface area (mm²/gm) of one species of the Teleostei fish, Abu Al-Hakam, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch,1797) which belongs to the stinning cat fish family; Heteropneustidae. Specimens were collected with gill nets from the Al-Massahib region (one of the southern parts of the Al-Hammar Marsh) north of Basrah city. The study of the gill area (mm²/gm) shows that the fish length groups differ in proportionate gill surface area (mm²/gm) . The lower length groups have a proportionately larger gill surface area (mm²/gm), whereas the higher length groups have lower gill surface area (mm²/gm) due to the increasing values of the total length of the gill filaments. The fish of the present study fall in the category of sluggish-activity species that have relatively small gill areas.