Indices of Biological Integrity (IBIs) are being increasingly used as useful and direct tools for assessing general health of aquatic ecosystems. Although such ecosystems in Iraq, especially the southern marshes, underwent severe alterations during the last two decades, including extensive desiccation in the 1990s, such tools are largely lacking. Phytoplankton Index of Biological Integrity (P-IBI) was developed from data collected seasonally from 2005 up to 2007 in different sites of the southern marshes of Iraq to evaluate the trend of these ecosystems based on phytoplankton data. Ten metrics were selected for measuring P-IBI for the first time in Iraq as a proposed project from Nature Iraq and Twin Rivers Institute, American University of Iraq-Sulaimani. Although generally fluctuated both spatially and temporally, mean P-IBI scores showed better conditions in Al Hawizeh marsh (Good) as compared to the Central and West & East Al Hammar marshes (Fair to Good). However, the results generally indicated evidence of improvement at the Central and West & East Al Hammar marshes, whereas no recovery of the status of water was evident throughout the data obtained at Al Hawizeh marsh. Values were generally higher in winter. These observations clearly reflect the relative stability of the Hawizeh marsh ecosystem which was not subject to the desiccation process in the 1990s, while the severely dried systems of the Central and Hammar marshes are showing positive responses to the restoration efforts that were started after 2003. Among the ten metrics comprising the index, relative abundance of diatoms had the most prominent effect on the P-IBI value in the three marshes. Metrics such as chlorophyll- a concentration and relative abundance of Cyanophyta and Chlorophyta also played a significant role in determining the index value. Continuous monitoring based on the selection of the most suitable metrics is recommended.
KeywordsIBINature IraqMarshesAquatic Ecology
J. R. Gammon and T. P. Simon, “Variation in a Great River Index of Biotic Integrity over a 20 Year Period,” Hydrobiologia, Vol. 422-423, 2000, pp. 291-304. doi:10.1023/A:1017060520873
R. V. Lacouture, J. M. Johnson, C. Buchanan and H. G. Marshall, “Phytoplankton Index of Biotic Integrity for Chesapeake Bay and its Tidal Tri-butaries,” Estuaries and Coasts, Vol. 29, No. 4, 2006, pp. 598-616. doi: 10.1007/BF02784285
J. R. Karr, “Assessment of Biotic Integrity Using Fish Communities,” Fisheries, Vol. 6, No. 6, 1981, pp. 21-27. doi:10.1577/1548-8446(1981)006 2.0.CO;2
L. S. Fore, J. R. Karr and R. W. Wisseman, “Assessing Invertebrate Responses to Human Activities: Evaluating Alterna-tive Approaches,” Journal of the North American Benthological Society, Vol. 15, No. 2, 1996, pp. 212-231. doi:10.2307/1467949
S. B. Weisberg, J. A. Ranasinghe, D. M. Dauer, L. C. Schaffner, R. J. Diaz and J. B. Frithson, “An Estuarine Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) for Chesa-peake Bay,” Estuaries, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1997, pp. 149-158. doi:10.2307/1352728
T. Smayda, “Primary Production and the Global Epidemic of Phytoplankton Blooms in the Sea: A Linkage,” In: E. M. Cosper, V. M. Bricelj and E. J. Carpenter, Eds., Coastal and Estuarine Studies, Novel Phytoplankton Blooms, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1989, pp. 449-483.
J. L. Pinckney, H. W. Paerl, P. Tester and T. L. Richardson, “The Role of Nutrient Loading and Eutrophication in Estuarine Ecology,” Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 109, No. 5. 2001, pp. 699-706. doi:10.2307/3454916
R. W. Alden III, D. M. Dauer, J. A. Ranasinghe, L. C. Scott and R. J. Llanso, “Statistical Verification of the Chesapeake Bay Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity,” Environmetrics, Vol. 13, No. 5-6, 2002, pp. 473-498. doi:10.1002/env.548
D. D. Kane, S. I. Gordon, M. Manawar, M. N. Charlton and D. A. Culver, “A Planktonic Index of Biotic Integrity (P-IBI) for Lake Erie, A New Tech-nique for Checking the Pulse of Lake Eric,” In: M. Munawar and R. T. Heath, Eds., Checking the Pulse of Lake Eric, Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, 2005.
J. R. Karr, “Biological integrity: Along-Neglected Aspect of Water Resource Management,” Ecological Applications, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1991, pp. 66-84. doi:10.2307/1941848
J. R. Karr and D. R. Dudley, “Eco-logical Perspective on Water Quality Goals,” Environmental Management, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1981, pp. 55-68. doi:10.1007/BF01866609
A. Lumb, D. Halliwell and T. Sharma, “Application of CCME Quality Index to Monitor Water Quality: A Case Of The Mackenzie River Basin, Canada,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 113, No. 1-3, 2006, pp. 411-429. doi:10.1007/s10661-005-9092-6
U. Sommer, Z. M. Gliwicz, W. Lampert and A. Duncan, “The PEG-Model of Seasonal Succession of Planktonic Events in Freshwaters,” Archives of Hydrobiology, Vol. 106, No. 4, 1986, pp. 433-471.
D. C. Müller-Navarra, S. Güss and H. Von Storch, “Interannual Variability of Seasonal Succession Events in a Temperate Lake and its Relation to Temperature Variability,” Global Change Biology, Vol. 3, No. 5, 1997, pp. 429-438. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.1997.00080.x
W. Lampert, “Zooplankton Research: The Contribution Of Limnology To General Ecological Paradigms,” Aqua- tic Ecology, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1997, pp. 19-27. doi: 10.1023/A:1009943402621
D. W. Schindler, “De-tecting Ecosystem Response to Anthropogenic Stress,” Cana-dian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Vol. 44, No. S1, 1987, pp. 6-25. doi:10.1139/f87-276
P. Schriver, J. Bogestrand, E. Jep-pesen and M. Sondergaard, “Impact of Submerged Macrophytes on Fish-Zooplankton-Phytoplankton Interactions: Large-Scale Enclosure Experiments In A Shallow Eutrophic Lake,” Fresh-water Biology, Vol. 33, No. 2, 1995, pp. 255-270. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.1995.tb01166.x
I. Tatrai, J. Olah, G. Paulovits, K. Matyas, B. I. Kawiecka, V. Jozsa and F. Pekar, “Biomass Dependent Interactions in Pond Ecosystems: Res-ponses of Lower Trophic Levels to Fish Manipulation,” Hy-drobiologia, Vol. 345, No. 2-3, 1997, pp. 117-129. doi:10.1023/A:1002919305978
APHA, WWA, WEF, “Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Waste Water,” 21st Edition, American Public Health Association, Washington D.C., 2005.
D. S. Rawson, “Algal Indicators of Trophic Lake Types,” Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1956, pp. 18-25. doi:10.4319/lo.1956.1.1.0018
G. E. Hutchinson, “A Treatise on Limnology (Vol. II): Introduction To Lake Biology And The Limnoplankton,” John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1967.
S. S. Dixit, J. P. Smol, J. C. Kingston and D. F. Charles, “Diatoms: Powerful Indicators Of Environmental Change,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 26, No. 1, 1992, pp. 23-33. doi:10.1021/es00025a002
N. Gómez and M. Licursi, “The Pampean Diatom Index (IDP) for Assessment of Rivers and Streams in Argentina,” Aquatic Ecology, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2001, pp. 173-181. doi:10.1023/A:1011415209445
A. G. Soli-mini, M. Bazzanti, A. Ruggiero and G. Carchini, “Developing a Multimetric Index of Ecological Integrity Based on Macroin-vertebrates of Mountain Ponds in Central Italy,” Hydrobiologia, Vol. 597, No. 1, 2008, pp. 109-123. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9226-7
R. Patrick and C. W. Reimer, “The Diatoms of the United States, Exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii,” Monographs of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. 1, No.13, 1966, p. 688.
G. W. Prescott, “Algae of the Western Great Lakes Area,” William C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, 1982.
W. T. Edmondson, “Fresh-Water Biology,” 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1959.
G. M. Smith, “The Fresh Water Algae of United States,” McGraw Hill Book Company, New York, USA, 1950.
H. Germain, “Flore Des Diatomées, Diatomo-phycées,” Société Nouvelle Des éditions Boubée, Paris, 1981.
T. Mizuno, “Illustration of the Fresh Water Plankton of Japan,” Hoik Publishing Company Ltd., Osaka, 1971.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Best Practices for Identifying Reference Condition in Mid-Atlantic Streams,” Office of Environmental Information, Washington D.C., 2006.
L. E. Astin, “Developing Biological Indicators from Diverse Data: The Potomac Basin-Wide Index Of Benthic Integrity (B-IBI),” Ecological Indicators, Vol. 7, No. 4, 2007, pp. 895-908. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2006.09.004
G. R. Gibson, M. L. Bowman, J. Gerritsen and B. D. Snider, “Es-tuarine and Coastal Marine Waters: Bioassessment And Biocri-teria Technical Guidance,” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water, 2000.
R. J. Geider, H. L. MacIn-tyre and T. M Kana, “A Dynamic Model of Photoadaptation in Phytoplankton,” Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 41, No. 1, 1996, pp. 1-15. doi:10.4319/lo.1996.41.1.0001
C. S. Reynolds and A. E. Walsby, “Water Blooms,” Biological Re-views, Vol. 50, No. 4, 1975, pp. 437-481. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.1975.tb01060.x
H. G. Marshal and R. W. Alden, “Spatial and Temporal Diatom Assemblages and Other Phytoplankton within the Lower Chesapeake Bay, USA,” Proceedings of the 10th International Diatom Sympo-sium, Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, 1990, pp. 311-322.