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Aquatic Ecology Series Laith A. Jawad Editor Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth Aquatic Ecology Series Volume 11 Aquaticecologyisanextraordinarilybroadandinterestingfield.Itinvestigatesthe interplay between aquatic organisms and their physical, chemical, and biological environment. Aquatic ecology encompasses all freshwater and marine ecosystems, including streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, coastal environments, and the vast expanses of the open ocean. Aquatic ecology studies a wide diversity of different organisms, ranging from tiny bacteria to large whales, facing a myriad of different processes such as biogeochemical cycles, genetic differentiation, and climate change. Fundamental research in aquatic ecology adds new discoveries almost everyday.Appliedresearchmakesmajorcontributionstobiotechnology,fisheries, water management, nature conservation, and environmental policy. Reassessments andsynthesesinaquaticecologyarestimulatingtothedisciplineasawhole,aswell asenormouslyusefultostudentsandresearchersinecologicalsciences. Aseries ofsuccinctmonographs andspecialized evaluations inaquatic ecology has been developed. Subjects covered are topical (e.g., coastal hydrodynamics, microbialloops,alpinelakes)ratherthanbroadandsuperficial. Thetreatmentsmustbecomprehensiveandstate-of-the-art,whetherthetopicisat the biochemical, mathematical, population, community, or ecosystem level. The objectives are to advance the topics by the development of arguments, with documented support, that generate new insights, concepts, theories to stimulate thought, ideas, directions, controversies. The books are intended for mature as wellasemergingscientiststostimulateintellectualleadershipinthetopicstreated. If you have questions regarding our book series or would like to submit a proposal to Aquatic Ecology, please contact the Publisher Éva Lőrinczi (eva. [email protected]). Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/5637 Laith A. Jawad Editor Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth Editor LaithA.Jawad SchoolofEnvironmentalandAnimalSciences UnitecInstituteofTechnology Auckland,NewZealand AquaticEcologySeries ISBN978-3-030-57569-4 ISBN978-3-030-57570-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57570-0 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2021 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthe materialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation, broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors, and the editorsare safeto assume that the adviceand informationin this bookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG. Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland “Once Again to Zainab, my lovely wife” To my daughters and granddaughters..... You made me stronger, better and more fulfilled than I could have ever imagined.... I love you all to the moon and back Preface It was a great book edited by Róska (1980), Euphrates and Tigris, Mesopotamian EcologyandDestiny.Foraperiodofnearly40years,thisbookwasampleinregard totheinformationthatwasincorporatedintoitastherewasnofloodofreportsabout thedrainagesofthetwinrivers,EuphratesandTigris,likewhatwehavenow. Since I saw this book in the early 1980s, an idea came to me to produce a comprehensivebookdealingwiththedrainagesoftheriversofEuphratesandTigris andthelandscapetheyenclosed.Thisidearemainedinmymindinspiteofthetwo Gulf wars and the political turmoil that the region has confronted during the last 30 years. I carried with me through the countries that I settled in temporarily and permanently for the last 26 years the idea of editing a comprehensive publication about Euphrates–Tigris rivers until the opportunity came, nearly 2 and half years ago,whenIsenttheproposalofthebooktoSpringer,andithasbeenaccepted. Inplanningthecontentsofthebook,Itookintoconsiderationthatofthebookof Róska(1980)asabaseandstartedtoaddandfillinthegapsthosechaptersthatare missingandthatcontaininformationaboutsubjectsthathavebeenforgotteninspite of being important to the region. I tried my best to make this book containing as muchaspossibletheimportantaspectsoflife,theenvironmentandtheconservation oftheEuphrates–Tigrisriversandtheirlandscapes. ThereareseveralreasonsforchoosingtoeditabookabouttheEuphrates–Tigris riversandthelandscapestheyencompassed.Amongthesearetheresourcesofthis region represented in water, oil, gas, minerals and agriculture. In addition, the historical aspects of the region and the social life of the people living in this area and the strategic geographic location, which is in the middle of the old world and accessibletoallcontinents,areallfactorsthatencouragemetoeditsuchabookand makeitavailabletothereadersallovertheworld. The fauna and the flora of the Mesopotamia are distinct and peculiar in their distribution and species content. Moreover, the invasion of the different species belongingtodifferentplantandanimalgroupstothisregionmadethestudyofthese groupsanimportantissueformostscientists. vii viii Preface The other important aspect that this book is dealing with is the issues of the environmentandtheconservationmeasuresthataretakingplaceatthepresenttime andthosethatneedtobeplannedinthefuture.TheMesopotamiaisalandthatfaced over the long years several changes caused naturally and due to the activities of humans in this region for thousands of years. Conflicts of different types between differentpopulationsandethnicitieswereevidentinthehistoricalpartsoftheregion and are still in practice in the present time in some parts of Mesopotamia. Such conflictsandnaturaldisastershavechangedandstillintheprocessofchangingthe resourcesofthearea,whichhaveanegativeeffectonthepeoplelivingintheregion. The different chapters of this book were written by scholars who are experts in their field. Thus, they represent the best of their scientific work to educate readers aboutthestatusoftheenvironmentoftheEuphrates–Tigrisriversandtheinhabitants oftheirlandscapesandshowtheimportantaspectsofthisregiontotheMiddleEast in particular and the world in general. It is important for the people living in Mesopotamiaatleasttobeawareoftheirlandanditsresourcesandhowtoconserve such wealth as their ancestors in Sumer, Akkad and Assyria have done thousand yearsago. Iwouldliketoexpressmythankstoallthecontributorsofthisbookwhoagreed to share the pieces of their scientific work as chapters are written about different aspectsofMesopotamiainordermakeitavailabletothereadersallovertheworld. Also,mysincerethanksshouldgotoSpringerthatagreedtopublishthisbookand makemydreamareality. Auckland,NewZealand LaithA.Jawad Contributors Abed,Jasim Iraq Adriansen,HanneKirstine Denmark Ahmed,SumayaM. Iraq Akıncı,ZeynepSıla Catalonia Al-Edany,TahaY. Iraq Al-Imarah,FarisJ.M. Iraq Al-Janabi,Muhammad Iraq Al-Saad,HamidT. Iraq Al-Sheikhly,OmarF. Iraq Al-Sulami,Amin Iraq Al-Taee,Asaad Iraq Ali,Atheer Iraq Atasağun,Sibel Turkey AudaiM.Qasim Iraq Ayboğa,Ercan Germany Aydin,GazelBurcu Turkey Bilgen,Arda USA Çamur-Elipek,Belgin Turkey Casellas,Antònia Spain Çetin,A.Kadri Turkey Dawood,Furat Australia Ergönül,M.Borga Turkey Esmaeili,HamidReza Iran Freyhof,Jörg Germany Genc,Ercument Turkey Ghaffari,Hanyeh Iran Glöer,Peter Germany Halihan,Todd USA Hassan,FikratM. Iraq ix x Contributors Hayati,Dariush Iran Jajaei,EfatSalmani Iran Jawad,LaithA. NewZealand Jaweir,HaifaJ. Iraq Jongerden,Joost TheNetherlands Kaleli,M.Aydın Turkey Kalender,Leyla Turkey Kambouzia,Jafar Iran Kaya,Cüneyt Turkey Kaya,Dogukan Turkey Khalfallah,Myriam Canada KhayyunAmtairRahi Iraq Koyuncu,CaferErkin Turkey Malekzadeh-Viayeh,Reza Iran Masseti,Marco Italy Maulood,BahramK. Iraq Mehrabian,AhmadReza Iran Mohammed,Ruqayah Iraq Mostafavi,Hossein Iran Mousavi-Sabet,Hamed Iran Muhsin,TawfikM. Iraq Nakayama,Mikiyasu Japan Öktener,Ahmet Turkey Pauly,Daniel Canada Pešić,Vladimir Montenegro Pourang,Nima Iran Safaei-Mahroo,Barbod Iran Sakamoto,Maiko Japan Saleh,KhalilI. Iraq Salewicz,KazimierzA. Austria Salman,NadirA. Iraq Scholz,Miklas UK Scurlock,JoAnn USA Secer,FaikSertel Turkey Şen,Bülent Turkey Shafizade-Moghadam,Hossein Iran Sharif,Adel UK Solak,CüneytN. Turkey Sulaiman,SadeqOleiwi Iraq Tanaka,Yukio USA Taş-Divrik,Menekşe Turkey Teimori,Azad Iran Valinassab,Tooraj Iran Valizadeh,Naser Iran