Impact of Salinity Changes in Shatt Al-Arab Estuary on Biodiversity of Marine Mammals of the Arabian Gulf: A Review

Abstract

Salinity changes in the Shatt Al-Arab Estuary and North-West Arabian Gulf were monitored and reviewed in terms of the shortage of freshwater inflows to the Shatt Al-Arab Estuary. Data from previous and current surveys on marine mammals in the area have also been checked and compared to study the biodiversity under newly-developed circumstances. The Eco-physiological investigation was performed to assess the salinity tolerance limits of whales, dolphins and dugong. One-third of the world’s 81 species of whales and dolphins, collectively called cetaceans, are thought to occur off the shores in the area. The new checklist is prepared according to recent surveys in the neighbouring Arab Gulf countries and the known checklist of mammals in Iraqi waters. Spatial variation of the marine mammals of the southern part was governed by the occurrence of feeding habitats rather than a direct response to salinity variations. Alteration of seaweed’s habitats in response to water pollution is reported to have a direct effect on the biodiversity of mammals in the gulf. The results of this review were discussed in terms of salinity tolerance, hazardous ecological factors and spatial variation. No obvious effect of salinity changes imposed by the shortage of freshwater inflow on the distribution or loss of marine mammals neither on their habitat in the Arabian Gulf.