*Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-95 4232340; fax: +95 4621125; E-mail address: andy@ebd.csic.es (A.J. Green)

In this appendix to our paper in Biological Conservation, we describe the changes observed by us (by 1999) in the Moroccan wetlands described by Morgan (1982). Although Morgan (1982) described the vegetation, invertebrates and waterbirds observed at each site in considerable detail, here we provide shorter accounts concentrating on the major changes and threats recorded at each wetland. These accounts are really comments on Morgan’s descriptions, which should ideally be read beforehand. Readers requiring more detailed up to date site information are encouraged to consult Green (2000) available on Andy Green’s web page, or to contact Andy.

For the following description of changes to each wetland, we retain the classification of wetland types made by Morgan and Boy (1982). The spelling of names for Moroccan wetlands varies considerably in the literature and between different maps, owing to the subjectivity of transcribing Arabic names with the roman alphabet. We use names consistent with the inventories of El Agbani et al. (1996), and Qninba et al. (1999) used in the International Waterbird Census (Delany et al., 1999). We provide alternative names used by Morgan (1982) in parentheses.

The whole complex of coastal lagoons located in the 40 km between Sidi Moussa and Oualidia has been affected by further creation of salines, intense reed-cutting and grazing, and recently the intensification of agriculture, including creation of greenhouses, on the surrounding sandy slopes (El Hamoumi, 2000). They seem certain to have undergone recent eutrophication (R. Flower pers. commun., 2000). Morgan studied the following three parts of this complex in detail.

It is not absolutely clear which of several saline complexes found in the Sidi Moussa area is referred to by Morgan, as his co-ordinates (32º51’N, 8º47’W) are erroneous. They seem most likely to be those found at 32º58’N, 8º46’W, but those previously studied by the University of East Anglia expeditions referred to are at 33º01’N, 8º43’W (Pienkowski, 1975). Both groups of salines are still actively exploited.

Listed by Morgan as "El Holba", yet the name given on most maps is El Hotba. This and the lake immediately to the south (32º55’N, 08º49’W) constitute the most important part of the complex for marbled teal and other Anatidae, and the most diverse wetland for plants in all the complex (largely owing to the relatively low salinity in these lakes). These marshes have now been subdivided by the construction of two causeways, as well as modernised salines at the northern end. The site is bordered by intensive horticulture reliant on freshwater extraction and agrochemicals (Dakki and El Hamzaoui, 1997; El Hamoumi, 2000).

The latitude quoted by Morgan (32º00 N) is erroneous if this is the site 13km to the southwest of Marais d’El Hotba-Wlad Salem as stated (the actual co-ordinates are 32º50’ N, 08º54’W). The value of this wetland has been reduced and its hydrology changed by the construction of at least 10 separating walls to make salines.

The commercial saline at the eastern end has been extended and is still in operation, using water extracted from this salt lake and covering part of the lake bed. As a result, what remains of the lake is now more temporary than before, and is always dry by May, and often sooner (e.g. it was dry on 8.3.95).

This site has now been almost completely destroyed (MSc, 1994). It was completely dry on 14.3.95, 21.10.97 and 9.5.99. On 24.1.94, a small area of no more than 10 ha was flooded.

This site no longer exists (MSc, 1994).

This lake has been completely drained and cultivated since the early 1980s. It was of great importance for crested coot, with 2000 counted in 1972 (Hovette and Kowalski, 1972). Up to 15 marbled teal were recorded (Green, 1993).

There have been no obvious changes to this lake since Morgan’s description. This lake is now protected within the Western High Atlas National Park.

This important wetland, permanent in Morgan’s time (with a depth of 1.75 m on 23.9.79, R. Flower in litt., 2000), is on the verge of disappearing altogether. It was previously important for crested coot (with counts of up to 1000 in 1964 [Blondel and Blondel, 1964] and 1973 [M. Thévenot in litt., 2000]) and ruddy shelduck (Morgan, 1982). It was much reduced in area (to c.20 ha) by 9.10.97, but it was still an important site at this time with a high diversity of submerged plants (see Fig. 1: note that Morgan reports this site to have no submerged plants), and 188 Crested Coot. However, it was already dry by March in 1999. The likely causes include sedimentation and the lowering of the water table by the drilling of numerous wells in the area.

Relatively minor changes to this lake have been recorded since Morgan. Fish introductions have apparently increased as a Rutilus rutilus is now present. A hotel has been constructed on the lake edge, and the lake is used regularly for sport fishing. In 1996, poplars were planted around the edge, but many of them are dead by 1999 as they were planted below the high water mark. This lake is now protected within the Western High Atlas National Park.

Changes at this lake have been relatively minor compared with several other mountain lakes. Water levels in 1984 and 1990 were well below late 1960s levels, apparently due to fluctuations in rainfall (Flower and Foster, 1992). Human activities in the catchment have increased, with construction of a house on the western end of the lake (c.1988) and nomads graze their sheep and goats in the catchment in summer, preventing the development of emergent, aquatic vegetation and the regeneration of surrounding (especially Cedrus) terrestial vegetation (Flower et al., 1992). There is also considerable use by tourists (Franchimont et al., 1994). Despite the fact that human use is not as intensive as at most Moroccan wetlands, it appears to have caused an increase in soil erosion and a reduction in water quality indicated by accelerated lake sedimentation accumulation rates and a change in the planktonic diatom community (Flower et al., 1992). Exotic fish include Esox lucius (Chergui et al., 1999).

This lake has been highly degraded since Morgan’s time. Rapid sedimentation from the surrounding steep slopes now denuded of trees is the probable cause of a reduction in the lake area and high turbidity. As a result, submerged vegetation has been eliminated except for tiny patches of Ranunculus. Numbers of wintering waterbirds have decreased steadily since 1983 (Franchimont et al., 1994). This site has lost its former importance for marbled teal, of which 300 were counted in 1973 (Green, 1993). Exotic fish include Esox lucius, Rutilus rutilus, Phoxinus phoxinus and Perca fluviatilis (Chergui et al., 1999).

Water levels are now reduced and the marsh to the southwest of the lake described by Dorst (1951) no longer exists. Grazing pressure in spring and summer by flocks of sheep and goats brought by nomads is intense, and emergent vegetation is almost eliminated. The nesting of Podiceps cristatus as described in 1965 (Géroudet, 1965) occurred up to at least 1985 (M. Thévenot in litt., 2000) but is now impossible owing to lack of vegetation. Numbers of wintering waterbirds have decreased markedly since 1983, and poaching of the protected Tadorna ferruginea and other waterfowl is a major problem (Pouteau, 1993; Franchimont et al., 1994). The native grayling-trout Salmo pallaryi became extinct after the introduction of the carp Cyprinus carpio in 1934 (Chergui et al., 1999). Other exotic fish include Esox lucius, and Stizostedion lucioperca (Chergui et al., 1999).

This remains an important site diverse in aquatic plants (Fig. 1) and waterbirds, although heavily grazed by sheep. At the western end, small ponds have been dug apparently to provide watering holes for livestock, and are connected to the main lake by artificial channels. Water levels were low on 25.5.99, when only about half the lake bed was flooded. If fully inundated, the area would approach 70 ha (in contrast to Morgan’s estimate of 25+).

During the 1970s and early 1980s, this was the most important of the Middle Atlas lakes for breeding and wintering waterbirds (M. Thévenot in litt., 2000), and was still a clear-water lake in good condition (with a conductivity of 0.75 mS) in 1984 (Flower et al., 1989; R.J. Flower in litt., 1999), yet by 1987 all the reedbeds had been removed by cutting and grazing, many waterbird species had disappeared and numbers of wintering waterbirds had crashed (Franchimont et al., 1994). It is now greatly reduced in area, highly turbid, totally devoid of submerged vegetation and with very few waterbirds (only 31 cattle egrets and 4 other birds on 9.10.97). Half of the shoreline is now surrounded by arable land. In 1997 this lake had an exceedingly low water level, and only c.30% of the basin was flooded. Exotic fish include Esox lucius and black bass Micropterus salmoides (Chergui et al., 1999). Marbled teal were formerly present at this site (with 150 in September 1969, M. Thévenot in litt., 2000) but have not been recorded since 1981 (Green, 1993). Crested coot used to breed there, and up to 300 ruddy shelduck (in November 1978) were recorded in winter (M. Thévenot in litt., 2000).

This remains a relatively well-conserved and diverse lake of great conservation importance. The vegetation community remains rich (Fig. 1), although there is no fringe of Phragmites and Scirpus lacustris along the southwest shore as described by Morgan, probably due to overgrazing and reed-cutting (Franchimont et al., 1994). However, these and other emergent plants are found at the eastern end. Pumping of subterranean water from the underlying aquifer leads to low water levels in years of dry rainfall (Dakki and El Hamzaoui, 1997). "Pedalo" boats are no longer in use, although local tourism (picnickers from Fes and Meknes) has intensified (Franchimont et al., 1994). The development of intensive chicken farms in the catchment may lead to significant pollution. This lake is enormously important for crested coot, and 1,200 marbled teal were recorded in April 1999 (Table 4). Morgan underestimated the area of this lake, which is 140ha (El Agbani, 1997). Exotic fish include Esox lucius and Tinca tinca (Chergui et al., 1999).

The latest news from September 2001 is that this lake was completely dry. It is unclear whether or not this is a "natural" event due to reduced precipitation, or to what extent increased water extraction for agriculture may be responsible. It is also unclear whether the lake will reflood again in the near future or not.

The remnant marsh of c.200 ha is much as was described by Morgan, despite the completion of the dam upstream. It remains of great importance for breeding waterbirds (e.g. crested coot, ferruginous duck and purple gallinule Porphyrio porphyrio), but is highly threatened. The new Tanger-Rabat motorway constructed in 1999 passes within a kilometre of the marsh. There is intense hunting of waterbirds by tourist hunters in winter, but the hunting interests have played an essential role in preventing the drainage of the site by the regional agricultural body ORMVAL (SECA-BCEOM.1992). The need to protect this site was emphasised by El Agbani et al. (1996). A management programme is currently being organised by the Centre d’Etude des Migration d’Oiseaux, the Ministère des Eaux et Forêts and local authorities, with financial support from the International Crane Foundation.

The marsh within the Moulouya delta described by Morgan with an area of 100 ha was described as having an area more like 300 ha by 1989. This marsh increased in size as a consequence of hydrological changes associated with the construction of upstream dams and irrigation projects (Brosset, 1990). However, this marsh is now drained and the only surviving wetlands are fragments of marsh surrounding the river mouth totalling about 100 ha in area. Of these remaining wetlands, Morgan only described a small oxbow (see below), but they are of considerable interest for the breeding of marbled teal and purple gallinule, and the presence of the threatened plant Althenia orientalis. However, these wetlands are highly threatened by the construction of a new road and bridge at the river mouth (in 1999), and a construction of a new fishing and tourist port and rapid tourist development along the coast to the east. Development agencies have claimed that the biological value of remaining wetlands is "almost null" (SECA-BCEOM 1992), and their future seems gloomy. However, a management programme has been initiated under the MedWetCoast programme http://www.medwetcoast.com/NL/Morocco/morloc/morloc.htm).

This wetland, protected as a Biological Reserve since 1978, supports more wintering waterbirds than any other moroccan site (El Agbani et al., 1996 ; Qninba et al., 1999) and has received more attention from the conservation movement than any other moroccan wetland (Bayed et al., 1998; Dakki et al., 1998; El Agbani et al., 1998; Hajib and Marraha, 1998), but faces a growing list of threats (Dakki and El Hamzaoui, 1997). Repeated calls for the integrated management of the site have yet to be implemented (SECA-BCEOM, 1992; MSc, 1994; Dakki and El Hamzaoui, 1997). It is one of four Moroccan wetlands declared as Ramsar sites in 1980.

Since the mid-1980s, agricultural intensification in the catchment has led a decrease in the quantity and quality of freshwater entering the wetland via the Nador Canal to the south and wad Dradar to the north (Flower et al., 1992; MSc, 1994; El Agbani et al., 1998). The surrounding sandy soils are now exploited for plasticulture (strawberries, tomatoes etc), and increased groundwater extraction via wells has lowered the water table. Water levels in the merja have dropped and the area of saltmarsh and Phragmites fringing the wetlands has been reduced by agricultural encroachment and other factors (MSc, 1994; Flower and Patrick, 1998). The impact of agrochemical inputs has not yet been studied in detail but is likely to have caused ecological change and to threaten the Zostera beds vital to wintering waterbirds (MSc, 1994; Bayed et al., 1998; El Agbani et al., 1998).

Major new threats include the construction of a motorway along the eastern edge (completed by 1997) and another road along the dunes separating the Merja from the sea (construction started in 1999). The latter is certain to accelerate coastal development for tourism. The sewage from new housing developments in the Moulay Bousselham area will be dumped into the merja. Aquaculture projects have also started in the lagoon (Dakki and El Hamzaoui, 1997). Merja Zerga was the most important Moroccan wetland for the Critically Endangered slender-billed curlew Numenius tenuirostris, which wintered there annually up to 1995 (Gretton, 1996).

After Merja Zerga, this wetland has received more attention from the conservation movement than any other Moroccan wetland. It is also a Ramsar site. It is still of great ornithological importance, particularly for the marbled teal, crested coot and ferruginous duck that breed and winter there (with peak counts of 1,680 marbled teal in January 1982 and 557 crested coot in October 1997). The description of Morgan is still largely accurate with the following exceptions. The Biological Reserve is no longer surrounded by a stock-proof fence and is grazed illegally by cattle. In contrast, the northern shores are no longer grazed and extensive beds of Typha, Juncus and Phragmites have now developed in the northern half of the lagoon. The abundance and species of submerged vegetation undergo fluctuations and is more diverse than suggested by Morgan. Potamogeton pectinatus becomes very abundant in some years in the northern half (e.g. in October 1997, hence the abundance of coots). Ruppia cirrhosa, R. maritima and Chara aspera are also present (Flower and Patrick, 1998; R.J. Flower in litt., 2000.). As well as carp, black-bass and Gambusia affinis were introduced by 1976 (Thévenot, 1976), although black-bass disappeared soon after. Gambusia were restocked in 1996.

Sedimentation rates have increased in recent decades and are now c.2 cm yr^-1, suggesting that the whole lake will become seasonal by 2050 (Flower et al., 1992). Sediment cores reveal an increase in atmospheric particulate pollution since 1970, probably from the nearby city of Kenitra (Flower et al., 1992), and a notable increase in salinity post 1980 (Flower and Patrick, 2000).

There remains intense recreational pressure from local tourists and picnickers, and the resulting disturbance clearly reduces the use of the eastern margins by waterbirds, and may reduce the carrying capacity of the lake. In 1995, under a BirdLife International project, barriers were set up to prevent growing numbers of visitors in cars from gaining access to the lake shore, and a hide was constructed to encourage birdwatching. However, there was no maintenance of this infrastructure and by 1999 the barriers had been removed and the hide vandalised beyond repair. For further information about this wetland, see Thévenot (1976), Aguesse et al. (1983), El Agbani (1997), Green and El Hamzaoui (2000).

This small oxbow in the Moulouya delta still exists, although it is highly threatened by rapid development in the area (see above). It’s true position is 35º07 N, 02º20 W (Morgan’s coordinates would position it on the west side of the river mouth). A second, smaller, more saline oxbow on the other side of the road (35º07’12’’N, 02º19’45’’W) held the threatened plant Althenia orientalis in 1999.

This wetland (described in detail by Franchimont et al., 1990) is now included within the Royal Estate and access is restricted. It remains a diverse site of considerable importance, with breeding marbled teal and crested coot (Table 4). It is the only site in Morocco currently holding the globally threatened white-headed duck, which bred there in 2000. No threats have been identified. The lack of human disturbance and other threats, combined with the artificial maintenance of adequate water levels, has made this the most important wetland in central Morocco for waterbirds (Franchimont et al., 1994).

It is unclear if this pond still exists, but it is probably one of the dayas (of the western group) studied by Nègre (1956) (M. Thévenot in litt., 2000). We were unable to locate it in 1995, but this maybe owing to its uncertain position, small size and temporary nature.

These abandoned salines still exist and include areas less saline than those described by Morgan (with spot conductivities down to 23 mS on 2.10.97) with stands of Phragmites and Ruppia. The salines have been used to dump considerable amounts of refuse.