The Effect of Water Discharge Rates on the Spread of Plastic Particles in the Shatt al-Arab River
Keywords:
plastic, fish, Shatt al-Arab, Ecological factors, Water drainageAbstract
From November 2021 to August 2022, water and fish samples were taken quarterly from four selected stations in the central part of the Shatt al-Arab River, several environmental parameters were collected. They include the temperature of water, water turbidity, dissolved oxygen, total suspended materials, and total dissolved solids. During the summer in Al-Baradiya, the highest water temperature was 31°C, water turbidity values ranged from 1-45 nephronic turbidity units, the highest total suspended solids value was 6 mg/l, and the highest total dissolved solids value was 22777 mg/l. During the winter, Al-Baradiya had the highest dissolved oxygen value of 6.5 mg/l. catch 377 Individuals of fish were caught, and they were dispersed among 15 species. At all study stations, the types of plastic extracted in the stomach of fish were divided into three types: fibers, fragments, and plastic films, with fibers being the dominant species at a percentage of 56% over the other types. The red color of the plastic predominated in the rest of the colors, the largest number of plastic waste was in the Dakir and Al-Ashar stations, at 43.40% of the total number of plastic. The effect of the lack of water reaching the Shatt al-Arab River during the year 2022 was detected in a clear increase in plastic particles in the river.
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