Jornal Global de Biologia, Agricultura e Ciências da Saúde

Abstrato

THE ECOLOGICAL CONDITION OF THE GARMAT ALI RIVER, IRAQ

Abdul-Razak M. Mohamed, Kadim H. Younis,Entisar K. Hameed

The ecological status of the Garmat Ali River was evaluated by using water quality index (WQI) and fish integrated biological index (F-IBI) during the period from November 2015 to October 2016. Water temperature, salinity, transparency and pH were measured from three sites in the river. Fish were captured monthly by different fishing gears. The results revealed that the annual value of water quality index (WQI) of the river was 49.5 which reflect marginal water quality condition. A total 34 fish species were collected, 7 of them were native, 8 exotic and 19 marine species. F-IBI scores were calculated from 15 separate fish assemblage metrics based on the species richness, species composition and trophic guilds. The overall F-IBI value of the river was evaluated to be impaired (F-IBI= 46.5%). The study revealed that the ecological condition of the Garmat Ali River is still deteriorating and this requires improving the quality and quantity of water reaching the river from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.