Al-Bahathy, I., Nashaat, M. (2025). Impacts of Hindiya Barrage on the Microcrustacean Cladocera Along Euphrates River. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 29(3), 501-517. doi: 10.21608/ejabf.2025.427687
Idrees Al-Bahathy; Muhanned Nashaat. "Impacts of Hindiya Barrage on the Microcrustacean Cladocera Along Euphrates River". Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 29, 3, 2025, 501-517. doi: 10.21608/ejabf.2025.427687
Al-Bahathy, I., Nashaat, M. (2025). 'Impacts of Hindiya Barrage on the Microcrustacean Cladocera Along Euphrates River', Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 29(3), pp. 501-517. doi: 10.21608/ejabf.2025.427687
Al-Bahathy, I., Nashaat, M. Impacts of Hindiya Barrage on the Microcrustacean Cladocera Along Euphrates River. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 2025; 29(3): 501-517. doi: 10.21608/ejabf.2025.427687
Impacts of Hindiya Barrage on the Microcrustacean Cladocera Along Euphrates River
This study was conducted at the Hindiya Barrage on the Euphrates River, located north of Babylon Province, to evaluate its impact on the ecological indices of Cladocera communities. Samples were collected from five stations in 2019 to assess the influence of the barrage on the ecological characteristics of Cladocera. The highest average density was recorded at the barrage site, reaching 598 individuals/m³, compared to 407 individuals/m³ at the downstream site, indicating a significant impact of the barrage on Cladocera density. Changes in water conditions led to an increase in species richness, with 28 species recorded in the barrage reservoir. The reservoir was identified as the primary source of pelagic Cladocera for the river. The Cladocera diversity index was 1.02 bits/individual at the barrage site and 1.01 bits/individual downstream (site 3). Similarly, the uniformity index decreased from 0.84 at the barrage to 0.73 downstream, indicating reduced evenness in species distribution. Overall, Cladocera diversity in the Euphrates River was low, as the Shannon index remained below 2 throughout the study area. However, Cladocera communities showed high evenness based on uniformity index values. Ceriodaphnia rigaudi and Bosmina longirostris were identified as constant species across sites. The findings suggest that the Hindiya Barrage significantly altered the ecological properties of Cladocera due to the transition in water conditions from lotic to lentic and then back to lotic.