Distribution of red belly tilapia Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848) larvae in Shatt Al-Arab River and East Hammar marsh, Iraq

The larvae of Coptodon zillii were surveyed in Shatt Al-Arab River andEast Hammar marsh from January 2015 to December 2015. A total of 127 C. zilliilarvae were collected from three stations. The highest number of C. zillii larvae was 78recorded at station 1 in East Hammar marsh (Mansoury), comprised 61.41% of the totalfish larvae collected, and the lowest number (23) was from station 3 in Shatt Al-ArabRiver near Abu Al-Khaseeb, comprised 18.11% of the total fish larvae collected. C.zillii larvae were found in the study regions from April to October. The peak ofabundance was 22.8 larvae/10m² during July at station 1. The lower abundance of larvaewas 0.7 larvae/10m² in June at station 2 at the confluence of the Garmat Ali River withShatt Al-Arab River. Water temperatures in the three sampling stations were similar andranged from 12°C in December to 32 °C in July. Salinity in station 1 ranged from 1.2‰in August to 2‰ in June while in station 2 it ranged from 1.03‰ in October to 2.8‰ inJuly and in the station 3 ranged from 2.7‰ in April to 6.1‰ in December during thestudy period. Positive correlation was shown between water temperature and salinity inall stations with the number and abundance of C. zillii larvae. The results indicated thatthe Shatt Al-Arab River and East Hammar marsh are spawning grounds for this species.