This study combines palynological, ecological, and molecular techniques to elucidate the taxonomic relationships within the complex genus Centaurea. By analysing quantitative parameters such as P, E, P/E ratio, colpus length, exine thickness, and ornamentation from SEM studies, we investigated pollen morphology across five species-C. behen, C. regia, C. iberica, C. virgata, and C. solstitialis-collected along a climatic gradient in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. The findings indicate significant ecotypic variation strongly associated with local environmental conditions. Iranian populations, adapted to dry conditions, exhibit thicker exines and longer colpi, suggesting enhanced desiccation resistance. Turkish populations tend to have thinner exines and longer grains, likely optimised for temperate pollination environments. Iraqi populations show intermediate pollen traits, reflecting their role as transitional ecotypes in semi-arid regions. These results highlight how environmental adaptation shapes reproductive morphology and offer a basis for integrative taxonomy, leveraging adaptive traits to refine species delimitation and clarify phylogenetic relationships within Centaurea.
This research includes a detailed morphological description of the Pollenia mesopotamica sp. nov. in Iraq. Locality, host plant and data of collection were given.
Some species, such as the Eurasian Collared-Dove (S. decaocto) are fast expanding around the planet, while others, such as the European Turtle-Dove (S. turtur), are experiencing precipitous population declines. Climate change, habitat loss, greater cultivated areas, and hunting pressure are the major threats to the diversity of Streptopelia. A few species require urgent conservation action. Priority for subsequent research should be to redress outstanding taxonomic uncertainties, ascertain the effect of climate change on distributions, and put in place conservation measures for declining taxa. We provide here a detailed review on how it is possible to understand the diversity of Streptopelia and how such an understanding can con
... Show MoreThe essay investigates the rise and development of the prose poem form in Iraqi poetry in the period during and after the 1980s Iraq–Iran war. The essay follows the legacy of Western experiments with form following the First World War and their impact on the development of form in Iraqi poetry culminating in the prose poem. The dominance of this form on poetic development in this period has a close relationship with the experience of warfare and the ensuing of the cultural changes in Iraq after 1980. Poets of the 1980s war used poetic form as a means of dissent. The prose poem became for them an inherently subversive form that reflected their disaffection with the political, cultural, and literary conflicts of the time. The prose poem in
... Show MoreThis article comprehensively examines the history, diagnosis, genetics, diversity, and treatment of SARS-CoV-2. It details the emergence of coronaviruses over the past 50 years, including the coronavirus from 2019 and its subsequent mutations, along with updated information about this virus. This review explains the development and nomenclature of coronaviruses, their cellular invasion through glycoprotein spikes binding to ACE-2 receptors, and the mechanism of cell entry via endocytosis. Diagnosis methods for COVID-19, including nucleic acid amplification, serology, and imaging techniques like chest X-ray and CT scan tests, are discussed. Treatment approaches for COVID-19 are outlined, emphasizing healthcare, antiviral medications like Rem
... Show MoreTwo specie's of terrnitls are described as new to science from Iraq Amitermes corpnlentus sp. n. and Anacanthotermes savvensis sp. n., with two figures.
The provision of safe water for people is a human right; historically, a major number of people depend on groundwater as a source of water for their needs, such as agricultural, industrial or human activities. Water resources have recently been affected by organic and/or inorganic contaminants as a result of population growth and increased anthropogenic activity, soil leaching and pollution. Water resource remediation has become a serious environmental concern, since it has a direct impact on many aspects of people’s lives. For decades, the pump-and-treat method has been considered the predominant treatment process for the remediation of contaminated groundwater with organic and inorganic contaminants. On the other side, this tech
... Show MoreThe easternmost extent of the Pharaoh Eagle Owl Bubo ascalaphus (Savigny, 1809)
distribution has remained enigmatic due to id entification problems and lack of owl research.
In Iraq, B. ascalaphus has been reported from only few localities in western Iraqi deserts;
while its occurrence in Iran has not been reported before this study. In 2017 2020, several
new records of B. ascala phus in western through southeastern Iraq were made and a new
distribution range in western Iran was confirmed. Furthermore, field identification,
interspecific relationships and conservation status of B. ascalaphus in Iraq and Iran were
comprehensively di scussed.