Distribution and density of Brachyuran crabs in Shatt Al-Basra Canal, Basrah, Iraq

Anfas N. Okash; Fadya M. Saleem; Sudad Asaad Alkinani; Zahraa M. Abdulhameed

doi:10.22034/ijab.v13i1.2407

Authors

Anfas N. Okash
anfasbadran@gmail.com
Department of Ecology, College of Science, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq.
Fadya M. Saleem Department of Ecology, College of Science, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq.
Sudad Asaad Alkinani Department of Ecology, College of Science, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq.
Zahraa M. Abdulhameed Department of Architecture, College of Engineering, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq.

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2025): February

Articles

January 25, 2025

Downloads

PDF

Abstract
How to Cite
Metrics
References
License

Crab samples were collected monthly from September 2023 to June 2024 in the Shatt Al-Basra Canal, Basrah, Iraq. During sampling, the air temperature ranged from 8 to 38°C, biological oxygen demand (BOD) from 3.5 to 7.3 mg/L, and total organic carbon (TOC) from 0.25 to 0.54. Based on the results, the highest density recorded for Nasima dotilliformis in December was 6 ind/m², for Leptochryseus kuwaitensis in February, and for Ilyoplax stevens in December and January, reaching 4 ind/m². Nasima dotilloformis was found throughout the whole study period in all months, but the two other species were absent in some months, with L. kuwaitensis having a lower density. Temperature had the most significant impact on the presence and density of the crab community and was a fundamental factor in the dryness of the riverbank soil. The results also showed a significant inverse correlation between temperature and BOD and an insignificant direct correlation between temperature and TOC.

Okash, A. N., Saleem, F. M., Alkinani, S. A., & Abdulhameed, Z. M. (2025). Distribution and density of Brachyuran crabs in Shatt Al-Basra Canal, Basrah, Iraq. International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 13(1), 77–82. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijab.v13i1.2407

Download Citation

Al-Ghais S.M., Cooper R.T. (1996). Brachyura (Grapsidae, Ocypodidae, Portunidae, Xanthidae and Leucosiidae) of Umm Al Quwaisn mangal, United Arab Emirates. Tropical Zoology, 9: 409-430.

Al-Khayat J.A., Jones D.A. (1996). Two new genera, Manningis and Leptochryseus (Decapoda: Camptandriinae), and descriptions of the first zoea of six Brachyurans from the Persian Gulf. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 16(4): 797-813.

Anger K. (2006). Contributions of larval biology to crustacean research: a review. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development, 49(3): 175-205.

Apel M. (1996). Ecological observations on crab communities (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) on intertidal mudflats in the Western PGulf and the effect of the 1991 Oil Spill. In: F. Krupp (Ed.): A marine wildlife sanctuary for the Persian Gulf. NCWCD, Riyadh and Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt. 327-338.

Azra M.N., Aaqillah?Amr M.A., Ikhwanuddin M., Ma H., Waiho K., Ostrensky A., Abol?Munafi A.B. (2020). Effects of climate?induced water temperature changes on the life history of brachyuran crabs. Reviews in Aquaculture, 12(2): 1211-1216.

Basson P.W., Burchard J.E., Hardy J.T., Price A.R.G. (1977). Biotopes of the western Gulf: Marine life and environments of Saudi Arabia. ARAMCO, Dept. of Loss Prevention and Environmental Affairs, Dhahran. 289 p.

Chumsri A., Tina F.W., Vongkok A., Chinnanon M., Chuaytanee N., Angajchariya A., Sujarit C. (2023). Human disturbance affects behavioural time allocation in a fiddler crab (Austruca annulipes) in Southern Thailand. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology, 11(3): 2023025-2023025.

Hornby R. (1997) A survey of the habitats, invertebrate fauna and environmental sensitivity of the mainland coast of the UAE, with information on status and distribution of Crustaceans. TRIBULUS, Bulletin of the Emirates Natural History Group, 7 (2): 11-17.

Jones D.A. (1986) A field guide to the sea shores of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf. University of Kuwait Blandford Press, Poole, Kuwait (1986). 192 p.

Lam-Gordillo O., May-Kú M. A., Ardisson P.L. (2022). Environmental variables influencing the abundance of frog crabs (Brachyura: Raninoidea) of the southwest Gulf of Mexico. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 266: 107744.

McLay C.L. (1988). Brachyura and crab-like Anomura of New Zealand. University of Auckland Marine Laboratory.?

Naser M.D. (2009). First record of the freshwater crab, Potamon mesopotamicum brandis, storch & Türkay, 1998 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Potamidae) from the Al-Huwaizah marshes, Iraq. Crustaceana, 82(12): 1599-1602.?

Naser M.D., Alkhafaji K.K.S., Yasser A.G., Darweesh H.S. (2013). New record of Nanosesarma sarii (Naderloo and Yurkay, 2009). Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae) from Khor Al-zubair, south of Iraq. Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum, 12(4): 35-41.

Ng P.K., Guinot D., Davie P.J. (2008). Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant brachyuran crabs of the world. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 17(1): 1-286.?

Thomson J. M. (1951). Catch composition of the sand crab fishery in Moreton Bay. Marine and Freshwater Research, 2(2): 237-244.?

Watson G.S., Gregory E.A., Johnstone C., Berlino M., Green D.W., Peterson N.R., Watson J.A. (2018). Like night and day: Reversals of thermal gradients across ghost crab burrows and their implications for thermal ecology. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 203: 127-136.

?Yasser A., Naser M. (2019). First report of Leucosiid crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Iraqi coast of the Persian Gulf. Journal of Biological Studies, 2(1): 25-30.?

Yasser A.G., Naser M.D. (2021). Brachyura of the Iraqi Coast, North-West of the Persian Gulf.? AkiNik Publications, New Delhi. 110 p.