Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T13:14:43.888Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Seasonal distribution of coastal mesozooplankton community in relation to the environmental factors in İskenderun Bay (north-east Levantine, Mediterranean Sea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2012

Tuba Terbiyik Kurt*
Affiliation:
Çukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Marine Sciences, 01330, Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey
Sevim Polat
Affiliation:
Çukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Marine Sciences, 01330, Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey
*
Correspondance should be addressed to: Tuba Terbıyık Kurt, Department of Marine Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries, Cukurova University, 01330, Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey email: [email protected]

Abstract

Mesozooplankton was studied during 2008 in coastal waters of the İskenderun Bay in order to determine seasonal changes in abundance, biomass, community structure and their relationship with environmental factors. Samples were collected seasonally at five stations using WP-2 net of 200 µ mesh size by vertical hauls. A total of 23 planktonic groups including 30 copepod species, 4 cladocerans and 4 chaetognaths were identified. Copepods were the most important group during the whole period of survey. Penilia avirostris was found to be dominant in spring, while Paracalanus parvus in summer and winter, and Acrocalanus gibber in autumn. Mesozooplankton abundance varied from 438 ind m3 (autumn) to 7163 ind m3 (spring), while biomass varied between 2.2 mg m3 (summer) and 52.9 mg m3 (autumn). Differences in abundance and biomass between seasons were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Clear seasonal distribution patterns were observed in the area. Two peaks in abundance were defined: a major peak in spring and a second minor one in autumn. It seems that the trophic element was the main factor affecting the density distribution of zooplankton populations, whereas species distributions were more affected by hydrographical parameters, namely: seawater temperature and salinity.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aker, H.V. and Özel, I. (2006) Seasonal distribution of Cladocerans in İzmir Bay. E.U. Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 1, 1722.Google Scholar
Benli, H.A., Tarkan, A.N. and Sever, T.M. (2001) Comparison of the mesozooplankton composition of the south-western Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, and eastern Aegean Sea. Turkish Journal of Marine Sciences 7, 163179.Google Scholar
Calbet, A., Garrido, S., Saiz, E., Alcaraz, M. and Duarte, C.M. (2001) Annual zooplankton succession in coastal NW Mediterranean waters: the importance of the smaller size fractions. Journal of Plankton Research 23, 319331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christou, E.D. (1998) Interannual variability of copepods in a Mediterranean coastal area (Saronikos Gulf, Aegen Sea). Journal of Marine Systems 15, 523532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christou, E.D., Pagou, K., Christianidis, S. and Papathanassiou, E. (1995) Temporal and spatial variability of plankton communities in a shallow embayment of the eastern Mediterranean. In Eleftheriou, A., Ansell, A.D. and Smith, C.J. (eds), Biology and ecology of shallow coastal waters. Fredensborg: Olsen and Olsen, pp. 310.Google Scholar
Çevik, C., Erkol, I.L. and Toklu, B. (2006) A new record of an alien jellyfish from the Levantine coast of Turkey Cassiopea andromeda (Forsskål, 1775) [Cnidaria: Scyphozoa: Rhizostomea]. Aquatic Invasions 1, 196197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El-Serehy, H., Aboul-Ezz, S., Samaan, A. and Saber, N. (2001) On the ecological role of Copepoda in the Suez Canal marine ecosystem. Egyptian Journal of Biology 3, 116123.Google Scholar
Fernandez de Puelles, M.L., Jansa, J., Morillas, A., Amengual, B. and Vicente, L. (1998) Spatial and seasonal variabilty of the zooplankton in the Balearic Sea (Western Mediterranean). Rapport de la Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée 35, 430431.Google Scholar
Fernandez de Puelles, M.L., Gras, D. and Hernández de Leon, S. (2003) Annual cycle of zooplankton, biomass, abundance and species composition in the neritic area of the Balearic Sea, Western Mediterranean. Marine Ecology 24, 123139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez de Puelles, M.L., Valencia, J. and Vicente, L. (2004) Zooplankton variability and climatic anomalies from 1994 to 2001 in the Balearic Sea (western Mediterranean). ICES Journal of Marine Science 61, 492500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gücü, A.C., Uysal, Z., Mutlu, E., Kıdeyş, A., Tuğrul, S. and Bingel, F. (2001) Identification of marine fauna and flora of a petroleum terminal in the İskenderun Bay. Final Report, Middle East Technical University, Institute of Marine Sciences, Içel, Turkey.Google Scholar
Isari, S., Ramfos, A., Somarakis, S., Koutsikopoulos, C., Kallianiotis, A. and Fragopoulu, N. (2006) Mesozooplankton distribution in relation to hydrology of the north-eastern Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean. Journal of Plankton Research 28, 241255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iyiduvar, O. (1986) Hydrographic characteristics of Iskendeun Bay. MSc thesis. Middle East Technical University, Icel, Turkey.Google Scholar
Jamet, J.L., Boge, G., Richard, S., Geneys, C. and Jamet, D. (2001) The zooplankton community in bays of Toulon area (northwest Mediterranean Sea, France). Hydrobiologia 457, 155165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamet, J.L., Jean, N., Boge, G., Richard, S. and Jamet, D. (2005) Plankton succession and assemblage structure in two neighbouring littoral ecosystems in the north-west Mediterranean Sea. Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 6983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahyalar (Kaya), P. and Polat, S. (2008) İskenderun Körfezi (Yumurtalık- Sugözü kıyı hattı) pikoplanktonik Synechococcus yoğunluk ve biyomasının mevsimsel değişimleri. Ç.Ü. Fen Bilimleri Enst. Dergisi 18, 5765.Google Scholar
Khalil, M.T. and El-Rahman, N.S.A. (1997) Abundance and diversity of surface zooplankton in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Egypt. Journal of Plankton Research 19, 927936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kovalev, A.V., Mazzocchi, M.G., Kideys, A.E., Toklu, B. and Skryabin, V.A. (2003) Seasonal changes in the composition and abundance of zooplankton in the seas of the Mediterranean Basin. Turkish Journal of Zoology 27, 205219.Google Scholar
Lakkis, S. (1984) On the presence of some rare Copepods in the Levantine Basin. Crustaceana Supplement 7, 286304.Google Scholar
Lakkis, S. (1990) Composition, diversité et successions des copepodes planctoniques des eaux libanaises (Mediterranee Orientale). Oceanologia Acta 13, 489501.Google Scholar
Lakkis, S. (2007) Dataset and database biodiversity of plankton community in Lebanese seawater (Levantine Basin, East Mediterranean). In Vanden Berghe, E. et al. (eds) Proceedings of Ocean Biodiversity Informatics: International Conference on Marine Biodiversity Data Management, Hamburg, Germany 29 November–1 December, 2004. VLIZ Special Publication, 37, pp. 99112.Google Scholar
Lakkis, S. and Toklu-Alicli, B. (2007) Contribution to the study of zooplankton community in İskenderun Bay (north-eastern Mediterranean). Rapport de la Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée 38, 527.Google Scholar
Mazzocchi, M.G. and Ribera d'Alcala, M. (1995) Recurrent patterns in zooplankton structure and succession in a variable coastal environment. ICES Journal of Marine Science 52, 679691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazzocchi, M.G., Licandro, P., Dubroca, L., Capua, J. and Saggiomo, V. (2011) Zooplankton associations in a Mediterranean long-term time-series. Journal of Plankton Research 33, 11631181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazzocchi, M.G., Christou, E.D., Di Capua, I., Fernández de Puelles, M.L., Fonda-Umani, S., Molinero, J.C., Nival, P. and Siokou-Frangou, I. (2007) Temporal variability of Centropages typicus in the Mediterranean Sea over seasonal-to-decadal scales. Progress in Oceanography 72, 214232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moraitou-Apostolopoulou, M. and Kiortsis, V. (1973) The cladocerans of the Aegen Sea: occurence and seasonal variation. Marine Biology 20, 137143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mozetic, P., Fonda-Umani, S., Cataletto, B. and Malej, A. (1998) Seasonal and inter-annual plankton variability in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic). Journal of Marine Science 55, 711722.Google Scholar
Parsons, T.R., Maita, Y. and Lalli, C.M. (1984) A manual of chemical and biological methods for seawater analysis. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Raghukumar, S. and Anil, A.C. (2003) Marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: a perspective. Current Science 84, 884892.Google Scholar
Roman, M.R., Gauzens, A.L., Rhinehart, W.K. and White, J.R. (1993) Effects of low oxygen waters on Chesapeake Bay zooplankton. Limnology and Oceanography 38, 16031614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Razouls, C., de Bovée, F., Kouwenberg, J. and Desreumaux, N. (2012) Diversity and geographic distribution of marine planktonic copepods. Available at: http://copepodes.obs-banyuls.fr/en (accessed 7 February 2012).Google Scholar
Sarıhan, E., Avşar, D., Polat, S., Çevik, C., Çiçek, E., Toklu, B., Ergüden, D., Olgunoğlu, M.P. and Çekiç, M. (2005) Monitoring study of the marine ecology in area affected by İSKEN-Su Gözü power plant. Final Report, Çukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries, Adana, Turkey.Google Scholar
Siokou-Frangou, I. (1996) Zooplankton annual cycle in a Mediterranean coastal area. Journal of Plankton Research 18, 203223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siokou-Frangou, I., Papathanassiou, E., Lepretre, A. and Frontier, S. (1998) Zooplankton assemblages and influence of environmental parameters on them in a Mediterranean coastal area. Journal of Plankton Research 20, 847870.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarkan, A.N. (2000) Abundance and distribution of zooplankton in coastal area of Gökçeada Island (Northern Aegean Sea). Turkish Journal of Marine Sciences 6, 201214.Google Scholar
Terbıyık, T., Çevik, C., Alıçlı-Toklu, B. and Sarıhan, E. (2007) First record of Ferosagitta galerita (Dallot, 1971) [Chaetognatha] in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Plankton Research 29, 721726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toklu, B. and Sarihan, E. (2003) The Copepoda and Cladocera (Crustacea) fauna along the Yumurtalik-Botas coastline in İskenderun Bay. E.U. Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 20, 6368.Google Scholar
Toklu, B. (2006) Seasonal changes and distribution of zooplankton in the İskenderun Bay (Yumurtalık-Kokar Cape). PhD thesis Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey.Google Scholar
Vidjak, O., Bojanic, N., Kuspilic, G., Marasovic, I., Gladan, Z.N. and Brautovic, I. (2006) Annual variability and trophic relations of the mesozooplankton community in the eutrophicated coastal area (Vranjic Basin, eastern Adriatic Sea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 86, 1926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vidjak, O., Bojanic, N., Kuspilic, G., Gladan, Z.N. and Ticina, V. (2007) Zooplankton community and hydrographical properties of the Neretva Channel (eastern Adriatic Sea). Helgoland Marine Research 61, 267282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, J.J. (1988) On the nature of continental shelves, 1st edition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Yılmaz, A., Basturk, O., Saydam, C., Ediger, D., Yılmaz, K. and Hatipoglu, E. (1992) Eutrophication in İskenderun Bay, north-eastern Mediterranean. Science of the Total Environment. Supplement, 705717.Google Scholar
Zakaria, H.Y. (2006) The zooplankton community in Egyptian Mediterranean waters: a review. Acta Adriatica 47, 195206.Google Scholar
Zenginer-Yılmaz, A. and Besiktepe, S. (2010) Annual variations in biochemical composition of size fractionated particulate matter and zooplankton abundance and biomass in Mersin Bay, NE Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Marine Systems 81, 260271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar