The authors document the diatom species composition and ecology in the two major water
impoundments of Southern Iraq the Mesopotamian Marshes and Shatt Al-Arab River. Based on light
and scanning electron microscopy investigations 293 taxa are documented including the
description of three new species. The taxa treated herein were collected from a variety of
habitats over a period of 15 years. Diatom assemblages consist of a mixture of freshwater
brackish water and marine taxa. Many diatom taxa that have disappeared in recent years are also
documented in this volume. One reason for their disappearance is the high salinization of the
Mesopotamian Marshes and Shatt Al-Arab River areas resulting from extremely low freshwater
discharge from Euphrates and Tigris Rivers which allowed the seawater front to reach these
regions. Species belonging to previously recorded genera such as Eunotia and Diatoma are no
longer present in this area. Therefore this work also is a documentary record of the diatom
flora of the wetlands of Southern Iraq during the past 15 years and not only provides an
insight into the present state of research but preserves records and findings from taxa no
longer present in Southern Iraq due to human driven ecological impacts.
