Mesopotamian Marshes - Ecology

Ecology

The marshes are home to 40 species of bird and several species of fish plus demarcating a range limit for a number of avifauna species. The marshes were once home to millions of birds and the stopover for millions of other migratory birds, including flamingos, pelicans and herons as they traveled from Siberia to Africa. At risk are 40% to 60% of the world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 90% of the world's population of Basra Reed-warbler. Also at risk are the Sacred Ibis and African darter. A subspecies of the Hooded crow known as the Mesopotamian crow is found in this part of southern Iraq. Seven species are now extinct from the marshes, including the Indian Crested Porcupine, the bandicoot rat and the marsh gray wolf. The draining of the marshes caused a significant decline in bioproductivity; following the Multi-National Force overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, water flow to the marshes was restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover.

The fate of the two species of otter (the Eurasian otter and the smooth-coated otter) which were historically present in the marshes on either side of the border remains unknown.