COMPARISON OF THE MESOZOOPLANKTON COMPOSITION THE SOUTHWESTERN BLACK SEA, SEA OF MARMARA AND EASTERN AEGEAN SEA

Comparison of the mesozooplankton composition the southwestern Black Sea, Sea of Marmara and eastern Aegean Sea

H. Avni Benli, A. Nuri Tarkan, T. Murat Sever

Dokuz Eylul University, Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Inciraltı,35340, Izmir, TURKEY
Istanbul University Faculty of Fisheries, Istanbul, TURKEY
Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Izmir, TURKEY

Abstract

In the Black Sea, a total of 98 zooplankton species were determined. Copepods constituted 80% of the total biomass of zooplankton species in the spring. This ratio varied seasonally; 60% in the summer, 68% in the fall, and 72% in the winter. The dominant species were Calanus helgolandicus, Paracalanus parvus, Pseudocalanus elongatus, Centropages ponticus, Acartia clausi, Oithona similis and O. minuta. In the Sea of Marmara, 17 Copepod species constituted over 75% of the total zooplankton biomass on the average for all the seasons. Acartia species were the most dominant. Other dominant species were from the genera Centropages, Pseudocalanus , Metridia , and Paracalanus, respectively . In the northern Aegean Sea, seasonal percentage of Copepod species in the total zooplankton taxa were determined as follows; 50% in the fall, 84% in the winter, 83% in the spring and 58% in the summer. The similar figures for the southern Aegean Sea were 75% in the fall, 73% in the winter, 88% in the spring, and 74% in the summer.

Keywords: Black Sea, Sea of  Marmara, Aegean Sea, zooplankton, copepod