Ecological study of Prosobranchiata (Gastropoda) in the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea and their relationship to benthic biocoenoses
Abstract
The present study is based on critically observed data on the taxonomy, ecology and biocoenology of Prosobranchiata from the eastern Adriatic Sea.
The data were collected for more than 20 years, during which period a large number of information was obtained for individual gastropod species. The data on some of the recorded gastropods, largely exceed those presented here.
The research was carried out in different biotopes of the northern, middle and southern Adriatic, including shallow coastal and deeper open littoral, that is bionomic steps from supralittoral to the bathyal of hard and mobile bottoms.
All the authors working in the Adriatic, who could be found in the available literature, were cited for individual species, whereas only more significant authors were reported for the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The paper then presents the species distribution in world seas, vertical and horizontal distributions in the Adriatic and abundance of each species and its relationship to benthic biocoenoses. The reports of other authors were discussed for each individual species. The data from the western Adriatic coast were presented for some species to give as complete account as possible. The most important synonymy is also given.
To be sure that the sites of records were authentic only live gastropod specimens were taken into consideration.
