Abstract
The study attempts to assess water quality in Abu-Zirig Marsh which used epiphytic Diatom community for assessing water quality. Many of Diatom indices {Trophic diatom index (TDI), Diatom index (DI), Generic diatom index (GDI) have been used to give qualitative information about the status of the freshwater ecosystem(good, moderate, high pollution). In this study, the epiphytic diatoms on both host aquatic plants Phragmites australis and Typha domengensis were collected from Abu-Zirig Marsh within Thi-Qar Province at three sites in Autumn, 2018 and winter, 2019. Epiphytic diatoms were Identified by the preparation of permanent slides method, some species of epiphytic diatom showed dominance such as Cyclotella meneghiniana, Gomphonema angustatum, Cocconies placentula, Cymbella affinis, Navicula cryptoephala, Nitzschia linearis, N. dissipata, Surirella ovalis. Abundant diatoms indicated trophic conditions of the Marsh. The results of diatom indices revealed that IPS (10-12.5) is a moderate pollution condition of marsh, DI (2.9-3.4) range from high to moderate pollution condition, TDI (47.2-60.8) indicates trophic condition ranging from (oligo-mesotrophic to eutrophic) condition of marsh while GDI a range between (11.6-13.7) moderate pollution condition, the aim of the study that is about evaluating water quality of Abu-Zirig Marsh by using Diatom indices (IPS,DI,TDI and GDI), as well as due to scarce local previous studies of epiphytic diatoms and used as bio-indicator of water quality in Abu-Zirig Marsh, therefor suggested this study .
Highlights
The Marshes in Southern Iraq, identified as the Mesopotamian marshlands were previously the largest wetlands in the Middle East before their drought in (1992) [1]
Diatom groups are used as bio-indicators for evaluating water quality of the marsh [7]
For quantitative analysis includes separate diatom cells from host plants (P. australis, T. domengensis), putting the sample of diatom cells in cylinders of (100ml) for 10-15 days with 1ml of Lugol solution for precipitation, keep precipitating (20-30ml) in containers with added drops of Lugol solution [16].prepared of permanent of epiphytic diatom for identification by the light microscope 100x [8]
Summary
The Marshes in Southern Iraq, identified as the Mesopotamian marshlands were previously the largest wetlands in the Middle East before their drought in (1992) [1]. The marshes act as a natural filter for contaminants coming from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers [3]. The major source of water in the marsh is out of the Shatt Abu-Lihia (Bottom section of the Gharraf River), [4]. Diatom groups are used as bio-indicators for evaluating water quality of the marsh [7]. Several local studies deal with epiphytic algae such as [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 2, 13] which include species identification and counting frustule of diatoms as well as the study of their distribution. The study aims to use epiphytic diatom indices (IPS, DI, TDI, GDI) to evaluate water quality of Abu-Zirig Marsh, the study performed about. Epiphytic diatoms due to their dominance in aquatic environment of Iraq [8]
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