A preliminary view on the faunal assemblage of soft-bottom crustaceans along the nearshores of the Turkish Black Sea

Abstract

      Beginning in August-1988 and ending in January-1989, single samples of the soft-bottom benthos were collected with a Van Veen grab (0.175 m²) from 20 stations along the Turkish coasts of the Black Sea.

      A total of 40 crustacean species was identified. The diversity and quantity of the fauna tend to decrease with increasing depth after 50-60 m due to significant reduction in O₂ level and to muddy basin. The most important crustaceans were Cythereis antiquata, Xestoleberis cornelii, Iphinoe elisae, Microdeutopus gryllotalpa and Ampelisca diadema in the shallower waters and common amphipod species, Ampelisca diadema in the deeper zones where the mud fraction was predominant. The coastal pure sandy bottom was charac­terized by means of a few psammophilic representatives such as Diogenes pugilator and Synchelidium maculatum.

      Centromedon sp. was a newly reported first member of this genus in the Black Sea.