SPECIES COMPOSITION AND SEASONAL VARIATION OFPERACARIDS (CRUSTACEA: PERACARIDA) OF THE ISTANBULSTRAIT (TURKEY)

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The Istanbul Strait connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and it has a two-layered water system. In this study, we determined the diversity of the Peracarid Crustacean fauna and the ecological characteristics of the area. The data produced in this study revealed 76 peracarid species in the Istanbul Strait, of which five species (Animoceradocus semiserratus (Spence Bate.1862), Echinogammarus stocki G. Karaman, 1973, Leptocheirus bispinosus Norman, 1908, Cymodoce spinosa (Risso, 1816), Gnathia dentata (G. O. Sars, 1872)) were reported for the first time in the Sea of Marmara. The physicochemical properties of the seawater as well as total organic and inorganic carbon, and mud percentages of the sediment were analyzed at the sampling stations. In these stations, no significant relationship was determined between temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen parameters and species or individual numbers. However, a positive relationship was found between the mud percentage and species and individual numbers. In contrast, at the hard bottom stations the number of individuals was positively associated with temperature and negatively with dissolved oxygen.