Seasonal changes of invertebrate fauna associated with Cystoseira barbata facies of Southeastern Black Sea coast

Abstract

This research was carried out to determine the invertebrate fauna associated with Cystoseira barbata facies distributed in the upper-infralittoral zone of the Southeastern Black Sea coasts and their bioecological features. The investigations were seasonally performed at depths of 0 to 3 m in 5 different stations chosen in the Southeastern Black Sea from July 2005 to May 2006. As a result of the study, a total of 6123 specimens belonging to 38 species and 4 taxonomic groups were identified. Arthropoda was the dominant group in terms of number of species (55.3% of the total of phylum) and number of individuals (83.9% of the number total individuals). With regard to frequency index, 14 species were defined as continious, 8 species of common and 16 species as rare. Idotea metallica is reported for the first time from the Black Sea coast of Turkey in the present study.

Keywords: Seasonal changes, invertebrate fauna, Cystoseira barbata, Black Sea, Turkey