Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth

The system of the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers is one of the great river systems of southwestern Asia. It comprises the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which follow roughly parallel courses through the heart of the Middle East. The lower portion of the region that they run through is known as Mesopotamia, was one of the cradles of civilisation.

There are several environmental factors that govern the nature of the two rivers and shape the landscape the two rivers running through. Geological events create rivers, climate monitor the water supply, the surrounding land influences the vegetation and the physical and chemical features of water.

The Tigris-Euphrates system runs through the territory of four countries, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Therefore, any scientific approach to the environment of these two rivers should include the natural history events in these countries.

The book " Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth " will be divided into nine parts. These parts deal with the issues of the environment, the status of the flora and fauna, the abiotic aspects, ecology, hydrological regime of the two rivers, the biotic aspects. Water resources, stress of the environment, conservation issues.

Since the book of Julian Rzoska " Euphrates and Tigris Mesopotamian Ecology and Destiny " in 1980, no book or major reference has been published that includes between its cover the facts and information that the present book will present. Therefore, the importance of the present book falls in stating the present status of the environment of the two rivers and the comparison of their environment between now and that of 37 years ago as given by J. Rzoska (1980).

The recent studies showed that there are a large number of natural and political events that happened within the last three decades in the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system that for sure have done a great change to the environmentof the two rivers and consequently changing the biological and non-biological resources of the two rivers. This book will be a reference book to both Academic and students across the Middle East in different disciplines of knowledge to use in their researches on Tigris-Euphrates river system. The scholars interested in this area will use this book as a guide to compare this freshwater system with other areas in Asia and the world.

It is the first book of its kind to be published on the Euphrates-Tigris Rivers It covers all the geographical areas that the two rivers systems encompass Discusses a wide spectrum of subjects related to different aspects of the environment and life in the area of the two rivers Compares the available data among the regions of the two rivers Serves as a reference book for academic researchers and students to compare this freshwater system with others in Asia and the world

Auteur

Laith A. Jawad obtained MSc in Fish Taxonomy from the Zoology Department, University of Bristol, UK, in 1980. He then worked as a fish taxonomist at Basrah University, Iraq, for more than 20 years before moving to New Zealand in 1997. During this time, he founded the biochemical taxonomy of fishes of Iraq and published over 400 scientific papers and book reviews in leading scientific journals. He is the author and co-author of several biology textbooks published in Arabic. Recently, he contributed five chapters to the book Coastal Fishes: Habitat, Behaviour and Conservation, published by Nova Publishers, Canada. He also authored the book Dangerous Fishes of the Eastern and Southern Arabian Peninsula, published by Springer in 2017. He served as a fish biodiversity expert and consultant at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Oman between 2008 and 2012, during which he co-authored two papers describing a new fish species in the Omani waters and reported over 80 fish species in Omani waters. He authored a guide to the fishes of the southern coasts of Oman published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Oman in 2018. He also published over 90 papers on the fish fauna of Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. In 2013, he started research collaborations with over 100 scientists from more than 50 countries around the globe investigating various aspects of fish taxonomy and ichthyology.

Contenu

Introduction.- Part I. Historical Perspectives.- Vertebrates of Upper Mesopotamia: Present Evidence and Archaeological Data.- Fishing Gears and Methods: A Comparison of Ancient Mesopotamia and Other Ancient Worlds.- Ichthyological Characteristics Available in the Fish Images Existed in the Art of the Ancient Mesopotamia.- The Effectiveness of Ancient Mesopotamian Medical Practices: The Example of u-Licorice.- Part II. The Abiotic Aspects of the Tigris Euphrates River System .- Management of Water Resources Using Storage Reservoirs.- Estimation of Irrigated Agricultural Area and Water Consumption in Iraq.- The Nature of TigrisEuphrates Rivers Flow: Current Status and Future Prospective.- Streamflow Alteration Impacts with Particular Reference to the Lower Zab River, Tributary of the Tigris River.- Ecohydrology in Iraq: Challenges and its Future Pathways.- Oil Pollution in the Shatt Al-Arab River and its Estuary 19802018.- Pesticides in the Waters, Sediments, and Biota of the Shatt Al-Arab River for the Period 19802017.- Surface Water Salinity of the Euphrates, Tigris, and Shatt al-Arab Rivers.- Renewable Energy for WaterEnergy Nexus in Euphrates and Tigris River Basin: A Literature Review.- Impacts of Dams on Aquatic Biodiversity, Fisheries, Fishes and Their Environment: Problems that Could Be Present in Iraq with Recommendations.- Water, Politics and Dams in the Mesopotamia Basin of the Northern Middle East: How Turkey Instrumentalises the South-Eastern Anatolia Project for Political, Military and Strategic Interests.- Dams and their Impacts on Fishes in Iran.- Part III. The Biotic Aspects of the TigrisEuphrates River System .- Preliminary Review of the Aquatic Biodiversity in Al-Kahla River, Missan Province, Iraq.- Freshwater Fish Biodiversity in Iraq: Importance, Threats, Status, and Conservation Challenges.- Effect of Climate Changes on the Freshwater Biodiversity in the Mesopotamian Plain: Recommendations for Avoidanceand Plans for the Future.- River Corridors as a Refuge for Freshwater Biodiversity: Basic Information and Recommendations to the Policymakers for Possible Implications in Iraq.- Biodiversity of Fungi in Aquatic Environment of Iraq.- Potability of Drinking Water in Basra-Iraq.- Algal Studies in Iraqi Inland Waters. A Review.- The Distribution of Epilitic Diatoms in the Turkish Part of the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin.- Plant Biodiversity in Shatt Al-Arab Estuary and Ecological Variations.- Medicinal Plants of Shatt al-Arab River and Adjacent Area.- The Role of Plants as a Canopy in the Inland Waters: Basic Information for Application in Iraq.- The Zooplankton Fauna of the Turkish Part of the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin.- Kinds and Distribution of Icthyoplankton in Shatt Al-Arab River.- Rotifer Diversity in Iranian Waters: A Review.- Biodiversity of the Freshwater Amphipods in Iran.- The Freshwater Molluscs of the Mesopotamian Plain.- Freshwater Annelida of Iraq.- A Critical Checklistof the Inland Fishes Native to the Euphrates and Tigris Drainages.- Fish Fauna of Shatt al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq: A More than Quarter a Century of Changes.- The Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio: Effect on the Environment and the Indigenous Fish Species in Iraq.- The Good and the Bad in Releasing the Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella in the Freshwater System: Recommendations for the Policymakers in Iraq.- The Avifauna of Tigris and Euphrates River Basin.- The Feasible Approaches to Assist Migratory Birds Visiting the Southern Reaches of Mesopotamia.- A Proposal for Establishing Bird Observatory Centre in the South of Iraq.- The Potential Role of Waterbirds as a Vect…