International Journal of Life Science and Agriculture Research

Climate change is increasingly recognized as one of the major drivers of ecological change in aquatic ecosystems, affecting environmental conditions, species distributions, community structure, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning. The Bahr Al-Najaf, a distinctive inland aquatic ecosystem in central Iraq, represents an ecologically important environment that is potentially vulnerable to climate-related changes due to fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, evaporation, water availability, salinity, and other physicochemical characteristics. Invertebrates constitute a fundamental component of aquatic biodiversity and play essential roles in food webs, nutrient cycling, decomposition, sediment processes, and energy transfer. Consequently, changes in their diversity and community dynamics can provide valuable indicators of environmental disturbance and ecosystem health. This review examines the potential relationships between climate change and the biodiversity dynamics of aquatic invertebrates in the Bahr Al-Najaf, with particular emphasis on the effects of increasing temperature, altered precipitation regimes, water-level fluctuations, evaporation, salinity changes, and associated modifications in water quality and habitat characteristics. The review considers how these environmental pressures may influence species richness, abundance, distribution, community composition, phenology, and functional characteristics of invertebrate communities. Particular attention is given to environmentally sensitive groups, including zooplankton, benthic macroinvertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic insect larvae, which may respond differently according to their ecological characteristics and tolerance limits. Climate-driven changes may favor tolerant and opportunistic taxa while reducing the abundance and distribution of sensitive species, potentially resulting in shifts in community structure and a reduction in ecological complexity. Such changes may also propagate through aquatic food webs, affecting fish and other higher trophic levels and ultimately influencing ecosystem services. The review further highlights the importance of integrating biological indicators with long-term monitoring of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, water levels, and other physicochemical parameters to distinguish climate-related effects from those associated with pollution, habitat modification, water abstraction, and other anthropogenic pressures. Developing standardized biodiversity monitoring programs and applying ecological, statistical, and predictive approaches could improve understanding of future changes in the Bahr Al-Najaf ecosystem. Establishing a climate-sensitive biodiversity assessment framework would also support conservation planning and sustainable management of this valuable aquatic ecosystem. Overall, understanding the interactions between climate variability and invertebrate communities is essential for predicting ecological responses, identifying vulnerable taxa, and developing effective strategies for protecting biodiversity and maintaining the ecological integrity of the Bahr Al-Najaf under future environmental change.

Climate change; Bahr Al-Najaf; aquatic biodiversity; invertebrates; macroinvertebrates; zooplankton; ecosystem dynamics; environmental change; ecological indicators

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