Limnologica 30 (2000) 83-90 LIMNOLOGICA

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© by Urban & FischerVerlag

Department of Aquatic Ecology, Fish Research Centre, Baghdad, Iraq

Spatial and Seasonal Variations of Phytoplankton Populations in the

Upper Region of the Euphrates River, Iraq

HUSSAIN A. AL-SAADI, THAER [. KASSIM,ALI A. AL-LAMI & SUAD K. SALMAN

With 5 Figures and 2 Tables

Key words: Phytoplankton, seasonal variations, River Euphrates, Iraq

Abstract Material and Methods

The phytoplankton composition of five selected stations at the
upper region of the Euphrates River, Iraq, was studied monthly
during 1993. A total of 135 taxa were identified, and 43 species
were common at all stations. Diatoms were the dominant group
(65.2%), followed by green (12.5%) and blue-green algae (8.9%).
More than 37% of the identified species belong to the three gen-
era Nitzschia, Cymbella and Scenedesmus. Nine species were
newly recorded for the Iraqi flora. The total cell numbers ranged
between 0.25 x 106 - 458.2 x 106 cells/1. Highest cell numbers
were found at the most northerly station. Cell counts were domi-
nated by diatoms (77.1%) with two peaks during spring and au-
tumn seasons. The seasonal variations of the dominant species
were discussed.
Introduction
The River Euphrates (length 2940 km) is one of the forty
longest rivers of the world (VAN DER LEEDEN 1975). In the
last decade details have been published on its limnological
features (AL-NIMMA 1982; HASSAN 1997; MAULOOD et al.
1993a; AL-LAMI et al. 1998) and on the phytoplankton com-
position (AL-NrMMA 1982; MAULOOD et al. 1993a; HASSAN
& AL-SAADI 1995). The seasonal variations of phytoplank-
ton composition have been published for the lower region of
the river by HASSAN& AL-SAADI(1995).
The present work deals for the first time with the quantita-
tive and qualitative seasonal variation of phytoplankton
species of the upper region of the Euphrates River. The lim-
nological characters of the same area were described by AL-
LAMI et al. (1998).
Water samples were taken monthly from five selected stations at the
upper region of the Euphrates River (see Fig. 1) for 12 months, be-
ginning in January 1993, using a Hydro-Bios plankton net of 20 ~tm
in pore diameter. The samples were fixed with formalin (40%).
Chromic acid was used to dissolve the organic matter of diatoms
(Bacillariophyceae). The identification of diatoms was done accord-
ing to HUSTEDT(1940), CLEVE-EULER(1952, 1953, 1954), PATRICK
& REIMER(1966), FOGED(1978, 1980) and GERMAN(1981). The
other species were identified according to DESIKACHARY(1959),
FRITSCH(1965) and PRESCOTT(1979).
For the quantitative study, subsurface water samples (5 litres)
were collected monthly from each station. One liter of each sample
was taken in a measuring cylinder, mixed with 2 ml of Lugol's iodine
solution (as a preservative), allowed to sediment for 10 days and was
then concentrated to 100 ml. The same steps were repeated for one
week to sediment the last 100 ml to 10 ml (FuRET& BENSON-EVANS
1982). A drop of preserved material was placed on a clean coverslip,
dried and cleaned with hot concentrated nitric acid, followed by use
of the microtransect method for counting diatoms (Bacillario-
phyceae), whereas for the other species the haemocytometer method
was used (STEIN1975). Chlorophyll-a was determined spectropho-
tometrically and calculated according to PARSONSet al. (1994).
Results
A total of 135 taxa of phytoplankton were identified in the
five stations studied, 9 species were recorded for the first
time for the flora of Iraq (Table 1).
Diatoms were the dominant group (65.2%), the majority
of them belonged to Pennales (60%), and 5.2% to the Cen-
trales (see Table 2). The Chlorophyta contributed 21.5% to

0075-9511/00/30/01-083 $ 12.00/0 83
 ~) i i
the taxa identified totally, followed by the
4 o 44° 47° 43° Cyanophyta (8.9%) and the Euglenophy-
ta, Pyrrhophyta and Chrysophyta with
l_Aubaidi 1.5% for each of these groups (Table 2).
I r!
The total cell numbers at the stations

@
r''" ~ ~ ) 33°20! studied ranged from 0.25 x 106 to 456.2 x
106 cells/1 (Fig. 2). Diatoms dominated
also in the cell numbers (77.1%) at all
stations (Table 1, Fig. 2) and showed a
clear increase during spring and autumn
seasons. The Chlorophyta were with
18.7% the next most abundant group at
--I--~N
all stations, followed by the Cyanophyta.
Raw
a # 42°-
There were a few species which ap-
peared at noticeably high cell numbers,
such as Chlorella vulgar& which was
lake found at high cell densities at all stations
Hadytt studied (Fig. 3). Chlamydomonas sp. was
also found in all stations with 0.5% (sta-
tion 1) to 10.9% (station 4) of the total
Baghdadi 2 number of cells. It appeared at slight
)~" e higher numbers during autumn season
(Fig. 3). Achnanthes minutissima was
also identified at all stations with a range
Hit x',
from 0.4% in station 1 to 37.2% in station
,5 2, and it showed higher densities during
q,
spring time (Fig. 4). Synedra acus was
43°
recorded at all stations and ranged from
5% in station 5 to 11.4% in station 4, with
Rhamad~/F,~e4 ( Therthartake a higher density during the summer sea-
son. There was a clear increase in its cell
numbers during April to October at sta-
tion 1 (Fig. 4). CycIotella meneghiniana
I !
ranged from 0.6% in station 1 to 15.7% in
10 km station 4, and was present in all stations,
with a higher density during summer and
autumn seasons (Fig. 5). C. kuetzingiana
was identified in all stations except sta-
tion 3, it ranged from 0.8% in station 4 to
24.4% in station 5, and showed a higher
Fig. 1. Map of the study area. density during spring season (Fig. 5).

Table 1. List of phytoplankton taxa identified and occurrence from the total cell number (in percent) at the five stations of the Euphrates
River: Symbols: + = present; - = not identified; species marked with an asterisk ( ) are new records for Iraq.
List of taxa Station
1 2 3 4 5

CYANOPHYTA
Anabaena sp. 0.01 + - +
0.10
Aphanocapsa biformis A. BRAUN -- 0.07 -- + 0.05
Chroococcus sp. 0.60 1.82 1.07 1.51 0.47
Lyngbya sp. + 0.35 0.43 0.23 0.90
Merismopedia elegans A. BRAUN + -
M. glauca (EHR.) NAEGELI 0.02 - 0.13 0.05
Microcystis sp. 0.03 - 0.13 0.04 0.83
Oscillatoria limnetica LEMM. 0.49 -
O. tenuis C. C. AGARDH -- -- 0.10

84 Limnologica 30 (2000) 1
Table 1. (Continued).

L i s t of t a x a Station

OscilIatoria sp. 0.03 1.42 1.90 2.11 1.81

*Rhaphidiopsis indica S I N G H RISH. NAEGELI -- + + + +
Spirulina major KOTZ. + + + --

CHLOROPHYTA
Actinastrum hantzschii LAGERHEIM 0.03 . . . .
AnkistrodesmusfaIcatus (A. BRAUN) G. S. WEST 0.07 . . . .
Carteria sp. 0.01 + 0.02 0.28 0.10
Chlamydomonas sp. 0.46 1.75 9.80 10.92 4.17
Chlorella vulgaris BEIJER. 84.0 12.80 4.43 16.20 13.71
Closterium sp. 0.01 0.15 0.05 0.04 0.12
Coelastrum astroideum DE NOT 0.15 0.07 0.27 0.12 0.16
*Cosmariumformosulum HOFF. -}- . . . .

C. hammeri REINSCH . . . . 0.01

Dictyosphaerium pulchellum WOOD 0.02 - - 0.04 +
Golenkinia paucispina WEST & WEST 0.01 - - 0.08 0.05
Lagerheimia quadriseta (LEMM.) G. M. SMITH 0.01 - + - +
Micractinium pusillum FRESENIUS - - - 0.O4 -
Monoraphidium sp. 0.38 0.02 0.34 0.24 0.27
Mougeotia sp.
Oocystis sp. 0.01 0.07 + 0.12 0.10
Pediastrum boryanum (TURP.) MENEGHINI -}- _ _

P. duplex MEYEN + 0.02 - - -

P. simplex (MEYEN) LEMM. 0.01 - 0.02 + 0.05
P. tetras (EHR.) RALFS . . } - . . . .

Scenedesmus acutus MEYEN + -- _ + --

S. bijuga (TuRP.) LAGERHEIM 0.05 0.03 0.20 0.08 -

S. dimorphus (TuRR) KOTZ. 0.07 0.14 0.09 0.12 0.05
S. longus MEYEN + - 0.02 - -
S. opoliensis R RICHTER . . . . 0.01
S. quadricauda (TuRP.) DE BREBISSON 0.22 0.21 1.90 1.20 0.59
Scenedesmus sp. + - 0.02 - -
Tetraedron minimum (A. BRAUN) HANSGIRG 0.03 0.02 0.29 0.2 0.25
T. pentaedricum W E S T & W E S T . . . . 3¢.

EUGLENOPHYTA
Euglena sp. + - - 0.05 -
Phacus sp. 0.04 . . . .
PYRRHOPHYTA
Glenodinium quadridens (STEIN) SCHILLER 0.01 - 0.07 0.04 0.05
Peridinium cinctum (MUELL.) EHR. 0.04 - - - +
CHRYSOPHYTA, Class Chrysophyeeae
Dinobryon sertularia EHR. 0.01 - 0.02 0.03 0.68
*D. mbellariae (LEMM.) PASCHER & LEMM. 3c . . . .

C H R Y S O P H Y T A , Class BaeiUariophyeeae
Centrales
Cyclotella comta (EHR.) KI~TZ. 0.23 - + + 1.92
C. katzingiana THWMTES 3.53 + - 0.76 24.40
C. meneghiniana K~TZ 0.61 1.34 6.82 15.70 7.31
C. ocellata PAUT. 0.15 1.14 2.01 5.68 9.09
Melosira granulata (EHR.) RALFS 0.02 0.84 2.69 3.65 3.99
M. italica (EHR.) K~)TZ. 0.05
Stephanodiscus astraea (EHR.) GRUNOW q- _ _ + 1.60
Pennales
Achnanthes minutissima K~TZ. 0.39 37.24 15.9 7.20 2.46
Amphora coffeaeformis AGARDH 0.01 0.07 - +

A. ovalis KOTZ. 0.06 0.30 0.83 0.75 0.98

*Anomoenoeis exilis (K~Tz,) CLEVE 0.24
A. vitrea (GRUNOW) ROSTAFINSKII 0.01 - - 0.05
Caloneis bacillum (GRuNOW) MERESCI-IKOWSKY +

Cocconies pediculus EHR. 0.01 1.00 0.94 0.14

C. placentula (EHR.) 0.13 7.70 5.71 2.87 1.48
C. placentula var. euglypta (EHR.) 0.01 - 0.09
Cymatopleura solea (BREB.) SMITH 0.01 + + 0.09 +

Cymatopleura sp. _ _ 3c

Cymbella affinis K~TZ. 0.16 0.40 0.41 0.29 0.71

C. aspera (EHR.) CLEVE - 0.07 +
C. cistula (HEMPRICH) GRUNOW 0.01 0.14 0.57 0.05

Limnologica 30 (2000) 1 85
Table 1, (Continued).

List of taxa Station

C. helvetica Ki2TZ. + 0.07

C. lacustris AGARDHCLEVE +
*C. lanceolata (EHR.) VAN HEURCKc%GRUNOW 0.11 0.18 0.04 +
C. leptoceros (EHR.) GRUNOW 0.57 0.21 0.1
C. microcephaIa GRUNOW 0.27 5.41 4.94 3.61 1.53
C. prostrata (BERKELEY)CLEVE 0.01 0.34 0.24 + 0.12
C. sinuta GREGORYA + + 0.06
C. tumida (BREBISSON)VAN HEURCK 0.04 0.06 0.21 -o.08
C. ventrieosa KOTZ. + + 0.07 + 0.07
Cymbella sp. 0.05 +
Diatoma elongatum (LYNOB.)AGARDH 0.23 2.30 1.94 1.88 1.11
D. vulgate BORY 0.03 0.82 1.69 0.26 0.16
Diploneis ovalis (HILSE) CLEVE + 0.13 0.12
D. pseudovalis (HusT.) HUSTEDT& PATRICK + +
Fragilaria construens (EHR.) GRUNOW 0.04 + 0.09
Fragilaria sp. 0.03 0.16 0.25 0.06
Gomphoneis olivacea (HORNE) DOWSON 0.02 + 0.18 0.04 0.05
Gomphonema angustatum (KOTz.) RABENHORST + 0.12 0.21
G. constrictum (EHR.) CLEVE + +
G. intricatum KOTZ. 0.19 +
G. olivaceum LYNGB. KOTZ. 0.07 0.08 + 0.17
G. tergestinum (GRuNOW) FRICKE 0.06 0.05
Gomphonema sp. 0.06 0.29 0.17 0.22 0.50
Gyrosigma peisonis (GRUNOW)HUSTEDT +
G. spencerii (W. SMITH) -t-
Gyrosigma sp. 0.08 + 0.05 0.05
Hantzschia amphioxys (Erie.) GRUNOW 0.02 0.16 0.16 0.17 +
Navicula cincta (EHR.) KOTZ. 0.16
N. cryptocephala KOTZ. 0.15 1.12 3.31 1.64 1.17
N. dicephala (EHR.) W. SMITH 0.23
N. halophila (GRUNOW) CLEW + 0.20
N. Ianceolata (AGARDH) 0.01 0.32 + 0.09 0.42
N. mutica K/2TZ. + +
*N. pseudohaphila CHOLNOKY 0.12
*N. phyllepta KOTZ. +
N. radiosa KOTZ. 0.07
N. pygmaea KOTZ. +
Navicula sp. 0.07 0.07 1.45 0.73 0.26
Neidium sp. + 0.17
Nitzschia acicularis (EHR.) W. SMITH 0.02 + + 0.O9
N. amphibia GRUNOW 0.16 + 0.81 0.23 0.21
N. apiculata (GREG.) GRUNOW 0.04 0.08 + 0.27 0.24
N. dissipata KOTZ. 0.12 0.41 1.71 0.65 0.64
N. frustulum (KOTz.) RABENHORST 0.01 0.18 0.05
N. gracilis HANTZSCH 0.01 0.14
N. granulata GRUNOW + 0.06
N. hantzschiana RABENHORST +
N. hungarica GRUNOW + 0.12 0.30 0.14 0.1
N. linearis W. SMITH + + 0.05 0.07
N. longissima (BRAUN)RALFS +
N. microcephala (GRUNOW) 0.01 0.11 0.46 0.32 0.1
N. obtusa W. SMITH + + + 0.05
N. palea (KOTz.) W. SMITH 0.39 5.42 6.66 6.08 3.26
N. punctata (W. SMTH)GRUNOW + 0.07
N. sigma (KOTz.) W. SMITH 0.01 0.16 1.82 0.04 0.05
N. sigmoidea (EHR.) W. SMITH 0.02 0.37 0.86 0.32 0.47
*N. stagnorum RABENHORST 0.14 + 0.26
N. tryblionella HANTZSCH + 0.11 0.05 0.08
*Pinnularia globiceps GREG. +
Pinnularia sp. + 0.06 0.07
Rhoicosphenia curvata (KOTz.) GRUNOW 0.02 0.23 0.16 0.13 0.05
Surirella ovalis BR~BISSON + 0.46
S. ovata (KOTz.) 0.04 q-
Synedra acus (KOTz.) 10.19 9.75 10.89 11.40 5.04
S. rumpens (KOTz.) 0.02 0.63 0.26
S. ulna (NITZSCH) EHR. 0.07 1.02 2.45 2.60 3.74

86 L i m n o l o g i c a 30 (2000) 1
T a b l e 2. Number of identified species and genera of the different algal groups in the stations studied of the Euphrates River.

Group Station Total

1 2 3 4 5

Species Genera Species Genera Species Genera Species Genera Species Genera Species %

Cyanophyta 9 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9 8 12 8.9
Chlorophyta 24 16 13 11 15 11 15 13 17 14 29 21.5
Euglenophyta 2 2 - - - 1 1 - - 1 1.5
Pyrrhophyta 2 2 - - 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1.5
Chrysophyta
Chrysophyceae 2 1 - - 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1.5
Bacillariophyceae
Centrales 6 3 4 2 4 2 6 3 7 3 7 5.2
Pennales 57 19 45 15 56 18 48 17 50 20 81 60
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total 102 50 69 35 84 40 79 43 86 48 135 100

Cells x 1000/I Station 1 pg/1 ;ells x 1000/I Station 4 pgll

1000000 30 10000 6

100000 26 6
1000
10000 20

1OO0 15 100 3

2
100 10
10
1
10 6
i
1 0
1 0 F M A M J d A S O N D
J F M A M J d A S O N D
Cells x 100011 Station 6 pg/i
Cells x 100011 Station 2 pg/1q7 10000 ~4
10000
3.6

1000
1000

iil
2.5

100 100 2
3
1.6

2 ]
10 10
1 0,6

0 0
F M A M d d A S O N D M A M d J A 8 O N D

Cells x 1000tl station 3 pg/1 Ill Total no. ~ Baclllarlophyceae ~ Chlorophyta

10000
m Cyanophyta ~ Chl. a pg/1

10OO

100

10

.,1t
. F M A M
LItL[,
J J A S O N D
Fig. 2. Total cell numbers of the major groups and chlorophyll-a
concentrations at the five stations studied at the Euphrates River.

L i m n o l o g i c a 30 (2000) 1 87
 Cells x 1000/I Chlorella vulgaris Cells x 1000/I Cyclotellameneghiniana
1000000
10000 I
1OO000
1000
10000

1000

100

10

1 1
J F M A M d d A S Q N D

Cells x 1000/I Chlamydomonas sp. Cells x 1000/I Cyclotella kuetzingiana

10000 100000

1000

100

10
1ooloooloo
tI 1o11
I
J F M A M J J A $ 0 N D J M A M J J A S 0 N 0

m Station 1 ~ 8tallon 2 Slatlon O I Station 1 ~ 8ration 2 ~ 81allon ;3

Station 4 ~ StaLlon 5 Station 4 ~ Station 5

Cells x 1000/I Achnanthesminutissima Fig. 3. Total cell numbers of Chlorella vulgaris and Chlamy-
10000
domonas sp. found at the stations studied of the Euphrates River in
the year 1993.
Fig. 4. Total cell numbers ofAchnanthes minutissima and Synedra
1000 acus found at the stations studied of the Euphrates River in the year
1993.
100 Fig. 5. Total cell numbers of two Cyclotella species found at the sta-
tions studied of the Euphrates River in the year 1993.

10

Discussion
d F M A M d d A 8 0 N 0

Except for limited number of true phytoplankton species,

Cells x 1000/I Synedraacus
most of the identified species in the Euphrates River were
100000
originally benthic. TALL1NG (1980) pointed out the impor-
tance of the benthic algae in Iraqi water ecosystems as a part
10000
of total phytoplankton. The dominance of diatoms as in the
1000 present study was also recorded in different other parts of the
River Euphrates (SAAD ~ KELL 1975; AL-NIMMA 1982;
100 MAULOOD et al. 1993a; HASSAN 1997). Similar results were
also found in other Iraqi inland waters (HuQ et at. 1978; AL-
10 SAADI et al. 1979; PANKOWet al. 1979; MAULOODet al. 1981;
AL-MOUSAWI et al. 1990; AL-SAADI & AL-LAMI 1992; AL-
ill L,i ~L~a t
1
J F M A M O d A S O N SAADI 1994).
More than 37% of the species identified totally in the
1 81atJon 1 ~ Station 2 Station 0

Station 4 ~ Station 5
study area belong to the genera Nitzschia (19 species), Cym-

88 Limnologica 30 (2000) 1
bella (13 species) and Scenedesmus (7 species) (see Table 1).
The importance of these genera in Iraqi waters was illustrat-
ed by MAULOOD et al. (1993b). They recorded 90 species be-
longing to Nitzschia, 57 species to Cymbella and 43 species
to Scenedesmus. Achnanthes minutissima, Synedra acus, Cy-
clotella meneghiniana and C. kuetzingiana which were
found in noticeable cell densities in the present study as men-
tioned before, are known to be common in the Iraqi waters.
A. minutissima was recorded at higher densities in marsh
areas in southern Iraq (AL-SAADI & AL-LAMI 1992). In
Mesopotamia, species of Cyclotella would appear as more
characteristic among the few typically planktonic algae of
the river systems (AL-KAIS~ 1974; TALLING1980).
The 9 species recorded for the first time in waters of Iraq
are:
• Raphidiopsis indica: A blue-green algae which has been
recorded in Tigris River on genus level only (AL-JOBOURI
et al. 1987).
• Cosmarium formosulum: The genus Cosmarium is very
common in Iraqi waters, and a total of 61 species have al-
ready been recorded (MAULOOD et al. 1993b).
• Dinobryon tabelIariae: A total of 5 species belonging to
this genus have previously been recorded in Iraq. Two of
them (D. sertularia and D. divergens) were common in
Iraqi waters.
• Anomoeoneis vitrea: Four species of this genus were
recorded in Iraq. A. sphaerophera is common in the Iraqi
waters.
• Cymbella lanceolata: The genus is common in different
Iraqi waters with a total of 57 recorded species. Five
species were most common: C. affinis, C. cistula, C. tumi-
da, C. turgida and C. ventricosa (MAULOOD et al. 1993b).
• Navicula pseudohaphila and Navicula phyllepta: The
genus Navicula is one of the most common genera in the
Iraqi waters with a total of 159 species recorded before,
five of them are considered very common: N. crypto-
cephala, N. pugmaea, N. radiosa, N. rhynchocephala and
N. salinarum.
• Nitzschia stagnorum: With 90 species recorded in waters
of different areas of Iraq, the genus Nitzschia follows in
dominance the genus Navicula. Several species of this
genus were common in Iraq such as: N. acicularis, N. am-
phibia, N. apiculata, N. dissipata, N. hungarica, N. palea,
N. sigmoMea, and N. tryblionella.
• Pinnularia globiceps: There were 17 species of this genus
recorded in the Iraqi waters. P. brebissoni is the most com-
mon species.
The highest cell numbers were recorded during early
spring in station 1. This was probably the highest record in
the Iraqi waters, caused mainly by the higher levels of nutri-
ents in comparison to other stations studied (AL-LAMt et al.
1998) as well as by the bloom of Chlorella vulgaris. This
species was recorded before only by AL-KAIsAI (1964, 1970,
1976).
In comparison to the other stations studied, higher cell
numbers were recorded in station 1 during the whole study
period. After omitting the highest record, reading for
ChloreIla vulgar&, the average cell numbers were 7.94 x 106
cells/1 in station 1, and between 1.09 x 106 and 1.82 x 106
cells/1 at the other four stations.
Overall average cell numbers recorded in the present
study (2.69 × 106 cells/l) were found to be little higher than
those recorded previously in the river (AL-NIMMA 1982).
SAAD & KEEL (1975) reported 1 million cells/l during April
at the lower regions of the river, MAULOODet al. (1993a) re-
ported only 0.25 x 106 cells/1 while I-IASSAN(1997) recorded
0.12 x 106. 0.47 x 106 cells/1 at Hilla River which is also at
the lower part of the Euphrates River. From the above studies
it may be concluded that the upper regions of the Euphrates
River (northern Baghdad) have higher cell numbers than the
lower parts. This may be due to several reasons such as nutri-
ents,
The dominance of diatoms in cell numbers at the present
study was reported to be common in the Iraqi waters (AL-
MOUSAWIet al. 1990; AL-SAADI & AL-LAMI 1992; MAULOOD
et al. 1993a; AL-SAADI 1994).
Similar to the total cell numbers, chlorophyll-concentra-
tion was higher at station 1 (1.2-24.5 ~tg/1) with an average
of 9.3 ~tg/l. At the other stations studied the concentrations
ranged between not determinable values and 6.6 pg/1, with
an average between 1.4-2.3 ~tg/1 (compare Fig. 2).
Acknowledgements: The authors are greatly indebted to Dr.
R.M. FORSTERfor English correction of the manuscript.
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Received: January 11, 1999
Author's address: Prof. Dr. H.A. AL-SAADI(corresponding author),
Department of Biology, College of Education for Women, Universi-
ty of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq; Dr. T.I. KASSIM, Dr. A.A. AL-LAMI
and S.K. SALMAN,Department of Aquatic Ecology, Fish Research
Centre, RO.Box 765, Baghdad, Iraq.