Kerem Bakir

Spatio-temporal distributions of zoobenthos in Mersin Bay (Levantine Sea, eastern Mediterranean) and the importance of alien species in benthic communities

Abstract Spatio-temporal variations of soft-bottom zoobenthic communites in Mersin Bay were examined at seven stations between February and October 2009. A total of 337 species were encountered, of which Polychaeta had the highest number of species (136 species), and Mollusca possessed the highest number of individuals (65% of total specimens) and biomass (59% of total biomass). The highest benthos density (max. 9760 ind. m−2) and biomass (max. 133 g m−2) were found at shallow-water stations, whereas the highest diversity index values were calculated at the deepest station. The molluscs Cerithidium diplax, Corbula gibba and Bittium reticulatum dominated the area. Changes of zoobenthic communities were spatial rather than temporal and were strongly correlated with depth and the sediment structures. A total of 40 alien species were found in the area, of which 15 species were possibly transported to the area by ships and the others were Lessepsian migrants. The most domiant alien species in the area were C. diplax, Finella pupoides, Notomastus mossambicus and Amphiodia obtecta. Alien species formed dense populations at shallow water stations, and accounted for 12% of total number of species and 31% of total number of individuals in the area. The community parameters estimated for alien species significantly differed among stations but not among sampling periods. The main factors negatively affecting the number of alien species and individuals were depth, the clay percentage and total organic carbon concentration in sediment. The number of native species and individuals in the area show moderate positive correlations with those of aliens.

The first record of the Jinga shrimp, Metapenaeus affinis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda, Penaeidae) from the Mediterranean Sea

Of the nearly 600 alien marine species of Metazoa that have been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea, two-thirds have established durable populations of ever larger range (Galil, 2008a, b). The majority of the aliens originate from the Indo Pacific region and have entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal (Ery threan aliens). Nine species of alien penaeid prawns occur in the Levant Basin, eastern Mediterranean, all of them known from the Turkish coast: Marsupenaeus japonicus (Bate, 1888), Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricius, 1798), Penaeus semi sulcatus De Haan, 1844, Melicertus hathor (Burkenroad, 1959), Metapenaeop sis aegyptia Galil, 1990, Metapenaeopsis mogiensis consobrina (Nobili, 1904), Metapenaeus stebbingi (Nobili, 1904), Trachysalambria palaestinensis (Steinitz, 1932), and Fenneropenaeus merguiensis (De Man, 1888) (cf. Galil, 2008a, b). All the alien penaeids but one (E merguiensis) have entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. The first three species are highly valued commercially and consti tute most of the prawn catch off southeastern Turkey (Duruer et al., 2008). Extensive studies conducted in 2003-2005 of the commercial prawn trammel net fishery targeting the native Mediterranean prawn, Melicertus kerathurus (Forsk?l, 1775) in Izmir Bay, have revealed no alien prawns, either in the landed catch or in the discard (Gok?e & Metin, 2007; Akyol, 2008).

ALien Biotic IndEX (ALEX) - a new index for assessing impacts of alien species on benthic communities.

Biotic indices are mainly aimed at assessing levels of deterioration caused by chemical or organic pollution. However, no biotic index to date has been developed to detect impacts of alien species on benthic communities. In this paper, a new biotic index, namely ALEX, is proposed to address the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and was tested in Mersin Bay (Levantine Sea, Turkey). Species were divided into four biogeographic groups, namely native species, casual species, established species and invasive species, and the metric considers the relative importance of these groups in samples. The index classified the ecological status of some stations which are shallow, and close to harbor and river mouths as bad or poor in February and October. The ALEX values were positively and significantly correlated with total nitrogen, silicate and silt percentage in sediment, and negatively correlated with depth and the distance from the harbor.

On the occurrence of Caprella scaura Templeton, 1836 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) in Turkish waters

(2011). On the occurrence of Caprella scaura Templeton, 1836 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) in Turkish waters. Zoology in the Middle East: Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 125-126.

New record of a Lessepsian amphipod from the Levantine coast of Turkey: Elasmopus pectenicrus (Bate, 1862)

The Levantine Sea is exceptionally vulnerable to biological invasions, where the principal vector of introduction is a passage through the Suez Canal. The rate of Lessepsian migration has increased in recent decades, and a majority of the Lessepsian species has significant ecological and economic impacts on the easternmost part of the Mediterranean (Çınar et al., 2005). The Mediterranean Lessepsian amphipods consist of a small number of species, i.e., eight, which, however, is a higher number than that previously known (Por, 1978): Cymadusa filosa Savigny, 1816, Bemlos leptocheirus (Walker, 1909), Unciolella lunata Chevreux, 1911, Gammaropsis togoensis (Schellenberg, 1925), Photis lamellifera Schellenberg, 1928, Elasmopus pectenicrus (Bate, 1862), Maera hamigera Haswell, 1880, and Stenothoe gallensis Walker, 1904 (cf. Bellan-Santini, 1998). These species comprise only 1.7% of the known Mediterranean amphipod fauna. Stenothoe gallensis and Maera hamigera were previously reported from the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey by Kocataş & Katağan (1978) and Kocataş et al. (2002), respectively. Two specimens of the amphipod, Elasmopus pectenicrus, were collected during excursions carried out in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey (36°35′′13′N 36°11′′48′E) in September 2005 at a depth of 0.1 m (fig. 1, asterisk). E. pectenicrus was identified following Karaman (1982) and the specimens are deposited in the Department of Hydrobiology (Ondokuz Mayis University, Sinop). A review of inventory studies relevant to the species indicates that E. pectenicrus constitutes a new record for the Turkish fauna. In order to properly document these new records, one of the

On the occurrence of Chelonibia patula (Cirripedia) on the coasts of Turkey

Chelonibia patula (Ranzani, 1820) is a cosmopolitan species. It was reported on artificial subtratum (Relini, 1980; Frazier & Margaritoulis, 1990) and there are also many host-basibionts for this species in the world’s oceans. Some of these are sea turtles (Ross & Jackson, 1972; Jones et al., 2000; Kitsos et al., 2003), portunid crabs (Williams & Porter, 1964; Mahjabeen & Mustaquim, 1994; Pasternak et al., 2002), gastropods (Darwin, 1854) and manatees (Cintron de Jesus, 2001). Chelonibia patula has been known from the western and central Mediterranean Sea and the Levantine Basin

First record of Abludomelita aculeata (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the eastern Mediterranean

The amphipod Abludomelita aculeata , previously known from the western Mediterranean and the Lusitanian region of the eastern Atlantic, is reported for the first time from the eastern Mediterranean. The record is based on two adult males collected off Izmir, Turkey.

Macrobenthic fauna associated with the invasive alien species Brachidontes pharaonis (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the Levantine Sea (Turkey)

The invasive alien mytilid species, Brachidontes pharaonis , forms a biogenic habitat in the mediolittoral and upper-infralittoral zones of the Levantine Sea, hosting a number of alien and native species. Examinations of samples taken from dense, continuous mussel beds at seven stations along the coast of northern Levantine Sea yielded 187 macro-benthic invertebrate species belonging to 11 taxonomic groups. Polychaeta accounted for 46% and 37% of the total number of species and individuals, respectively. The top three dominant species in the mussel beds were Stenothoe gallensis, Spirobranchus kraussi and Mytilaster minimus . The species with the highest frequency values on the mussel beds were Pseudonereis anomala, Phascolosoma stephensoni and Elasmopus pocillimanus . The highest density and biomass of the associated fauna were estimated as 42,550 ind m −2 and 1503 wwt g m −2 , respectively. The species number in samples varied between 14 and 47 species. The environmental variables best explaining variations in zoobenthic community structures were salinity, dissolved oxygen and total inorganic nitrogen in the water column. The biotic indices, TUBI and ALEX, classified the ecological status of one or two stations as moderate or poor, based on the relative abundances of ecological and zoogeographic groups, respectively. A total of 21 alien species were found to be associated with the mussel bed, of which Syllis ergeni is being newly considered as a new established alien species for the Mediterranean Sea. The maximum density of associated alien species was calculated as 30,300 ind m −2 . The alien species assemblages were greatly affected by salinity and total inorganic nitrogen.

The first record of Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cirripedia, Chelonibiidae) on the Turkish Aegean coast

The barnacle genus Chelonibia is known to be represented by four living species today (Hayashi, 2013). These all have a wide distribution in the world’s oceans and three of them have been reported from the Mediterranean Sea up to date (Hayashi, 2013). Among these, Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758), which was already reported from many tropical and subtropical parts of oceans and seas (Hayashi, 2013) is known from the entire Mediterranean. It has often been found as an epibiont on marine turtles (Newman & Ross, 1976) and rarely also on inanimate objects (Relini, 1980; Kitsos et al., 2003). One of the other two species, Chelonibia patula (Ranzani, 1818), which is a cosmopolitan species (Darwin, 1854; Newman & Ross, 1976; Relini, 1980; Frazier & Margaritoulis, 1990; Kitsos et al., 2003), is usually reported from crustaceans and gastropods (Darwin, 1854). It was also reported from the surface of inanimate objects by Relini (1980) and Frazier & Margaritoulis (1990), and as an ongrowth on marine turtles by Ross & Jackson (1972). The last species, Chelonibia caretta (Spengler, 1790) is generally found on Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) and shows a distribution comprising the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea (Monroe & Limpus, 1979; Caine, 1986; Hayashi, 2013). On the other hand, Cheang et al. (2013) mentioned that based on both morphological and molecular evidence, C. testudinaria and C. patula from SE Asia and Taiwan are the same species and belong to the western Pacific population of C. testudinaria as identified by Rawson et al. (2003). Moreover, according to Zardus et al. (2014) C. testudinaria, C. patula, and also C. manati Gruvel, 1903, are genetically indistinguishable species.

The presence of Alpheus lobidensDe Haan, 1849 (Decapoda, Alpheidae) on the Turkish Aegean Sea coast

A male specimen of Alpheus lobidensDe Haan, 1849 was collected on the Aegean coast of Turkey. It is the second Lessepsian species belonging to the genus Alpheusfrom the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea.