Seasonal Variations of Zooplankton Abundance in Shatt Al-Arab River, Southern Iraq

Abstract

Zooplankton samples were collected seasonally from three stations in the Shatt Al-Arab River southern Iraq by Plankton net (0.085 mm mesh-size and 40 cm mouth aperture) during 2013. Physical and chemical parameters of the water were studied such as, water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, TDS and Turbidity. The population density of zooplankton ranged between 253 ind./m 3 at second station (Abu Al-Khasib) to 69223 ind./m 3 at third station (Al-Faw) in winter. The important groups of zooplankton in the study area were Copepoda (56.1%), then Cirripede larvae (19.5%) and Cladocera (12.4%).