Th e marshlands of Lower Mesopotamia witnessed severe draining programs during late 1980s and early 2000s, which turned vast areas of the former water body into desert areas. New fi eld surveys of birds and their habitats in the marshes of southern Iraq were launched in 2005 through a national and international partnership of non-government organizations, ministries and donor agencies. Th is has resulted in the collection and collation of new data on the status, distribution and habitat requirements of birds and other biota in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Iraq from 2005 to 2008. Th is paper summarizes the bird data obtained in these surveys in the southern marshes, during which 159 species of birds were recorded; of these 34 are considered to be of conservation concern, including eight that are globally threatened.

IntroductionThe paper by Al-Sheikhly et al. (2013) described many novel observations that aimed to expand our understanding of the biology of the Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis, a poorly known species of considerable conservation concern (it being currently treated as Endangered by IUCN). However, we believe that significant problems concerning the methodology underlying the data stated to have been collected severely compromise the stated importance of their work, and must raise considerable doubts with respect to at least some of their conclusions.

The term “marshes” refers to the wetlands that are almost of shallow water with relatively dense plant cover, mainly of prominent plants (such as Phragmytes and Typha), or other submerged plants. The marshes of Southern Iraq (Ahwar) are of unique environmental and cultural features that rarely meet in similar habitats worldwide.. They are the most distinctive wetlands in Southwest Asia and worldwide as well. in some times in the past, these wetlands used to cover more than 15,000 km2, however, now it consists of less than this area. Functional diversity is fundamentally considered as a guide to comprehend the nature of ecosystem work. Despite the possession of the marshes of Southern Iraq for many major and minor functions, no study to determine the function diversity of this area was conducted. The present study aims to classify the major functions of the Iraqi marshlands, and then to develop a general framework to determine the extent of the decrease or increase in those functions as a result of the different influences. Also, the current study provides the criteria in preparing estimates for Iraqi marshes rehabilitation programs.

Dalmaj area, or Hor Ad-Dalmaj wetlands, is considered as one of the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Iraq and the Middle East region due to various ecological values and richness in species and habitat diversity. Dalmaj area includes wide spectrum of habitats that ranges of wetlands: open-water lake, reed-beds marsh, marsh margins, mudflats, and the open lake; in addition to the terrestrial habitats that include the arid lands, shrub-lands, and the desert and semi-desert areas. This wide range of habitats in Dalmaj and the surrounding areas have enriched the avifauna and bird diversity. Based on the results of intensive field surveys that extended over more than a decade (in addition to some observations back to 30 years made by MS) important observations were made on the numbers of the species and their counts in addition to their distribution within the study area where considerable numbers of resident and migrant bird species were observed. This includes 261 of the resident and migrant bird species (breeding and non-breeding) have been recorded in Dalmaj wetlands and the surrounding areas. Such a level of richness in bird diversity, that exceeds 60% of the Iraqi bird checklist, illustrates the necessity of taking the required measures to protect the biodiversity in general and the birds and their habitats in particular in this important hotspot on the national, regional, and global levels. The process of watching the birds and their habitats in Dalmaj along more than a decade have included long-term capacity-building activities that ended in creating solid, capable national team. The team of the Iraqi Organization for Conservation of nature (IOCN) has contributed in quite extensive surveys in Dalmaj area during the field work. The results of the 30-years surveys presented by this paper represent the most comprehensive work on the avifauna of Dalmaj area and in Iraq as well. The team is confident that this work would contribute positively to the conservation effort in Dalmaj area.

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