Recording Thirteen New Species of Phytoplankton in Euphrates River Environment in Iraq

Abstract

Thirteen species of phytoplankton were recorded for the first time in the Upper Euphrates River environment in Iraq during the period from January to June 2017. Five locations were selected along the river (Jubba village, Al-Baghdadi district, Dollab village, Hit city and Ramadi city). Among the 13 taxa, seven species belonging to the Chlorophyta division were identified: Excentrosphaera viridis, Monoraphidium caribeum, Nephrochlamys willeana, Oonephris palustris, Staurodesmus cuspidatus, Palmodictyon varium, and Westellopsis linearis. Moreover, two species of the Chrysohyta division, Rhizochrysis limnetica and Chrysidiastrum catenatum, were recorded in the study area. Two species belonging to the Bacillariophyta division were Acanthoceras zachariasii and Stenopterobia intermedia, showing in the study area. One species belonging to the Cyanophyta division, Stichosiphon sansibaricus, was recorded in Hit and Ramadi, and one species of Euglenophyta (Phacus orbicularis) was also recorded. Some physicochemical properties of the water from these locations were measured, including water temperature values ranging from 8 - 13 °C; pH ranging from 7.22 - 7.58; EC ranging from 580 - 755 µS.cm-1, while salinity was 0.30 - 0.44 g.L-1. Nutrient, such as nitrates, and phosphate values ranged from 156 - 232 µg.L-1 and 8.21 - 21 µg.L-1, respectively. The presence of new phytoplankton in Iraqi freshwater confirms the quality of river water in this area. This study was carried out to contribute to the knowledge of freshwater phytoplankton in Iraq for the upper region of the Euphrates River and their tributaries.