a flooded grasslands and savannas ecoregion, also known as the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh. The ecoregion includes both the Mesopotamian Marshes and the Shadegan Ponds, a wetland on the lower Karun River in neighboring Iran. The marshes are integral to coastal health, filtering out pollutants and waste before they reach the Gulf, though this capacity was significantly degraded after their draining. The marshes also serve as spawning and nursery sites for coastal fish and shrimp species. The seasonal and permanent marshlands are dominated by aquatic plants, including reeds (Phragmites australis), cattail rushes (Typha domingensis), and papyrus sedge (Cyperus papyrus). Riparian forests of poplar (mainly Populus euphratica), tamarisk (Tamarix pentandra and Tamarix meyeri), and willow (mainly Salix acmophylla) occur on islands and river banks. The marshes are home to 40 species of bird and several species of fish. It demarcates a range limit for a number of bird species. Flamingos, pelicans and herons inhabit the marshes. The marshes were once home to a large number of birds and the stopover for many other migratory birds as they traveled from Siberia to Africa. At risk are 40% to 60% of the world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 90% of the world's population of Basra reed-warbler. Also at risk are the sacred ibis and African darter. A subspecies of the hooded crow known as the Mesopotamian crow is found in this part of southern Iraq. Seven species are now extinct from the marshes, including the Indian crested porcupine, the Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat and the marsh gray wolf. The draining of the marshes caused a significant decline in bioproductivity; following the Multi-National Force overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, water flow to the marshes was restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover. Considerable confusion has existed relating to the status of the Eurasian otter and the endemic maxwelli subspecies of the smooth-coated otter in the region, but recent surveys have confirmed that both still survive. Inhabitants The Marsh Arabs are the primary inhabitants of the Mesopotamian Marshes and are theorized by some to be the descendants of ancient Sumerians, as their civilization dates back 5,000 years. They live in secluded villages of elaborate reed houses throughout the marshes, often only reached by boat. Fish, rice cultivation, water buffalo and other resources are also used in their daily lives. In the 1950s, there were an estimated 500,000 Marsh