Bülent Topaloğlu

Biodiversity of the northern Aegean Sea and southern part of the Sea of Marmara, Turkey

Two marine areas (the northern Aegean Sea and southern part of the Sea of Marmara, Turkey) which have different trophic and hydrodynamic characteristics were compared regarding diversities of bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish and cetaceans. During the study period (2006–2007), a total of 27 taxa of aerobic heterotrophic mesophilic bacteria including ten bacterial classes were reported for the first time from both seas. A total of 103 taxa from seven algal classes were determined. Copepod species in the northern Aegean Sea and southern part of the Sea of Marmara were recorded as 44 and 27, respectively. A total of 523 underwater photographs were taken at ten stations and the benthic organism diversity were examined for the first time using the photo-quadrat technique. A total of 72 fish belonging to 36 families, were determined. During the study, a total of 1548 nautical miles of survey effort were conducted for cetacean observation. Living individuals of the Stenella coeruleoalba (striped dolphin) were recorded for the first time. This study is intended to be the first detailed description of the diversity of bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish and cetaceans and comparison of two different marine environments in order to put forth the situation of the ecosystem as it is today.

Structural studies on Demospongiae sponges from Gökçeada Island in the Northern Aegean Sea

The Demospongiae is the largest Class in the phylum Porifera (sponges). Most sponge species in the Class Demospongiae have a skeleton of siliceous spicules and/or protein spongin or both. The first aim of this study was to perform the morphological and structural characterization of the siliceous spicules of four species belonging to Class Demospongiae (Suberites domuncula, Axinella polypoides, Axinella damicornis and Agelas oroides) collected around Gökçeada Island-Turkey (Northern Aegean Sea). The characterizations were carried out using a combination of Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) techniques. The sponge Chondrosia reniformis (Porifera, Demospongiae) lacks a structural skeleton of spicules or the spongin. It consists mainly of a collagenous tissue. The collagen with sponge origin is an important source in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. The second aim of this study was to provide more information on the molecular structure of collagen of outer (ectosome) and inner (choanosome) regions of the Chondrosia reniformis using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) was also used for the discrimination of ATR-FTIR spectra of species.

Remarks on the deep-sea decapod fauna of the Sea of Marmara (Crustacea: Decapoda)

A total of 1127 crustacean specimens was sampled from five stations in the deep-sea depressions of the Sea of Marmara (>1000 m deep). Calocaris macandreae Bell, 1853 was by far the dominant species at all stations. Polycheles typhlops C. Heller, 1862 and Sergestes robustus Smith, 1882 were found in low numbers.