Boundaries

This ecoregion, which extends along the northern coast of Africa, contains a freshwater fauna with many European elements and relatively high endemism for a dry region. Rivers and streams drain the Atlas Mountains and flow into the Mediterranean Sea and interior.  Productive chotts (shallow, irregularly flooded depressions) or sebkhas (irregularly flooded depressions) also provide important habitat for waterbirds.  Parts of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco are covered by this ecoregion.

Topography

This ecoregion comprises a rugged topography dominated by the Saharan Atlas and Tell Atlas mountains.

Freshwater habitats

Perennial and intermittent streams originate in the Atlas Mountains complex, comprised from west to east of the Saharan Atlas and Tell Atlas.  These streams flow either to the coast or inland.  The principal rivers flowing to the Mediterranean coast are the Moulouya, Cheliff, and Medjerda.  The Cheliff River is the largest river in Algeria and is unusual in that it originates in the Saharan portion of the Atlas and stretches about 700 kilometers to the Mediterranean Sea (Roberts 1975).  Many of the interior-flowing streams go underground and contribute water to the extensive aquifers that underlie the ecoregion.  Others flow into chotts, flooding them during the winter and creating habitat for breeding and non-breeding waterbirds.  The largest chotts in the ecoregion are Chott Ech Chergui (Algeria), Chott Melrhir (Algeria), Chott Merouane (Algeria), Chott el Hodna (Algeria), and Chott el Jerid (Tunisia).  The chotts are typically brackish to saline and support little aquatic animal life (Dumont 1987).  Reedbeds, including Phragmites australis, Scirpus lacustris, and Typha species, dominate the fringes of coastal ponds, lakes, and intermittent waterways.  Salt-tolerant species are widespread along the coast and inland.  Halocnemum strobilaceum is the most common plant lining the inland chotts (Hughes and Hughes 1992). Cold-water springs, which support many endemic stenothermal species, are found throughout the highlands (Giudicelli and Dakki 1984). 

Several protected areas occur in this ecoregion. The Lac Tonga Ramsar site, located in Algeria near the border with Tunisia, comprises a complex of wetlands fed by the Oued-el-Hout and Oued-el-Eurg. The area is also protected as part of the Parc National d’El Kala (Wetlands International 2002).  This park contains a freshwater lake as well as permanent freshwater marshes linked to the sea by an artificial channel (Wetlands International 2002).  The Park National d’El Kala also includes three other lakes in addition to Tonga (Lakes Oubeira, Mellah, and Blue) plus an extensive marsh, named Mekhada marsh outside the limits of this park.  Many of the coastal wetlands of the ecoregion are designated as Ramsar sites, including Lac Oubeïra, Lac Tonga, Lac des Oiseaux, Marais Mekhada and Lac Fetzara in Algeria and Ichkeul in Tunisia (Wetlands International 2002). 

Terrestrial habitats

Mediterranean woodlands and steppe are the dominant terrestrial habitats of this ecoregion.

Description of endemic fishes

The endemic species include Pseudophoxinus callensis, P. punicus, Barbus callensis, B. leptopogon, Tropidophoxinellus chaignoni, and Aphanius apodus.

Other noteworthy fishes

Other noteworthy species in the ecoregion include Aphanius fasciatus, Barbus fritschii, Salaria fluviatilis and Salmo macrostigma, which according to IUCN is still probably extant (IUCN 2012). 

Justification for delineation

This ecoregion’s southern border follows Roberts’ (1975) delineation of the Maghreb ichthyofaunal province, delimited in the south by the Atlas Mountains.  Its rivers share an ecological affinity with Mediterranean rivers. It is distinguished from its western neighbor, the Atlantic Northwest Africa ecoregion [501], by the presence of Asiatic elements and more temporary rivers and shallow lagoons. This is also the only African ecoregion with representatives of the fish genus Pseudophoxinus, a primarily European group. 

Level of taxonomic exploration

Good