Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T04:05:44.777Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Comparison of fish assemblages between the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea (north-eastern Mediterranean)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Cetin Keskin*
Affiliation:
Istanbul University, Department of Marine Biology, Fisheries Faculty, 34470 Laleli, Istanbul, Turkey
Francesc Ordines
Affiliation:
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centre Oceanogràfic de les Balears, Moll de Ponent s/n 07015 Palma, Spain
Beatriz Guijarro
Affiliation:
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centre Oceanogràfic de les Balears, Moll de Ponent s/n 07015 Palma, Spain
Enric Massutí
Affiliation:
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centre Oceanogràfic de les Balears, Moll de Ponent s/n 07015 Palma, Spain
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Keskin, Istanbul University, Department of Marine Biology, Fisheries Faculty 34470 Laleli, Istanbul, Turkey email: [email protected]

Abstract

The demersal fish assemblages of the south-western Sea of Marmara and the north-eastern Aegean Sea were examined in relation to their biogeographical and environmental conditions. Sampling was carried out during bottom trawl surveys conducted during five periods between June 2006 and August 2007. A total of 40 hauls were processed, including 16 in the Sea of Marmara (38–74 m deep) and 24 in the north-eastern Aegean Sea (63–401 m deep). A total of 47,940 individuals, from 91 species and 47 families were collected. Cluster analysis of catch data indicated that there were three assemblages, one in the shelf of the Sea of Marmara and two in the Aegean Sea (<100 and >200 m depth). The numerical abundance and biomass of fish, mean fish weight, mean species richness, diversity and evenness were compared between these assemblages. Multivariate analysis was used to test differences in environmental conditions between areas, and relationships between species and environmental variables were explored by using redundancy analysis. In addition to bathymetric differences, differences in both diversity and species composition were observed between shelf assemblages in the two nearby areas. The distinct biogeographical, environmental characteristics (depth, dissolved oxygen and temperature) and fishing pressure are discussed as the main factors which could explain the differences detected.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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

Abelló, P., Carbonell, A. and Torres, P. (2002) Biogeography of epibenthic crustaceans on the shelf and upper slope off the Iberian Peninsula Mediterranean coasts: implications for the establishment of natural management areas. Scientia Marina 66 (Supplement 2), 183198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Algan, O., Balkıs, N., Çağatay, M.N. and Sarı, E. (2004) The sources of metal contents in the shelf sediments from the Marmara Sea, Turkey. Environmental Geology 46, 932950.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baden, S.P., Loo, L.O., Pihl, L. and Rosenberg, R. (1990) Effects of eutrophication on benthic communities including fish: Swedish west coast. Ambio 19, 113122.Google Scholar
Bertrand, J.A., de Sola, L.G., Papaconstantinou, C., Relini, G. and Souplet, A. (2002) The general specifications of the MEDITS Surveys. Scientia Marina 66, 917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beşiktepe, S., Ozsoy, E. and Unluata, U. (1993) Filling of the Marmara Sea by the Dardanelles lower layer inflow. Deep-Sea Research I 40, 18151838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beşiktepe, S.T., Sur, H.I., Ozsoy, E., Latif, M.A., Oguz, T. and Unluata, U. (1994) The circulation and hydrography of the Marmara Sea. Progress in Oceanography 34, 285334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bianchi, G. (1992) Study of the demersal assemblages of the continental shelf and upper slope off Congo and Gabon, based on the trawl surveys of the RV ‘Dr Fridtjof Nansen’. Marine Ecology Progress Series 85, 923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bianchi, C.N. (2007) Biodiversity issues for the forthcoming tropical Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia 580, 721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biagi, F., Sartor, P., Ardizzone, G.D., Belcari, P., Belluscio, A. and Serena, F. (2002) Analysis of demersal assemblages off the Tuscany and Latium coast (north-western Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 66 (Supplement 2), 233242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caddy, J.F. (1999) Fisheries management in the twenty-first century: will new paradigms apply? Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 9, 143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carney, R.S. (2005) Zonation of deep biota on continental margins. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 43, 211278Google Scholar
Çiloğlu, E., Şahin, C., Gözler, A.M. and Verep, B. (2002) Vertical distribution and ratio of whiting fish (Merlangius merlangus euxinus Nordmann, 1840) in the total catch on the Eastern Black Sea Coasts. Ege University Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 19, 303309.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (2001) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. 2nd edition.Plymouth: PRIMER-E.Google Scholar
Coker, T., Turkoglu, M. and Satilmis, H.H. (2008) Seasonal distribution of some fish eggs and larvae, and potential contribution of some large scale pelagic fish Species in Saros Bay, Turkey. Çanakkale Values Symposiums (ÇIDS), Gelibolu Bulletin Book, 27–28 August 2008. Gelibolu, Çanakkale, Turkey. pp. 329330. [In Turkish.]Google Scholar
Colloca, F, Cardinale, M, Belluscio, A. and Ardizzone, G.D. (2003) Structure and diversity of demersal assemblages in the central Mediterranean Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56, 469480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D'Onghia, G., Tursi, G., Maiorano, P., Matarrese, A. and Panza, M. (1998) Demersal fish assemblages from the bathyal grounds of the Ionian Sea (middle-eastern Mediterranean). Italian Journal of Zoology 65 (Supplement), 287–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demestre, M., Sánchez, P. and Abelló, P. (2000) Demersal fish assemblages and habitat characteristics on the continental shelf and upper slope of the north-west Mediterranean. Journal of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 80, 981988.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eryılmaz, L.S. and Meriç, N. (2005) Review of fish fauna of the Sea of Marmara. Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment 11, 153178.Google Scholar
Fischer, W., Bauchot, M.L. and Schneider, M. (eds) (1987) Fiches FAO d'identification des espèces pour les besoins de la pêche. Méditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37, Vertébrés. Rome: FAO 2, pp. 7611529.Google Scholar
Gaertner, J.C., Bertrand, J.A., de Sola, L.G., Durbec, J.P., Ferrandis, E. and Souplet, A. (2005) Large spatial scale variation of demersal fish assemblage structure on the continental shelf of the NW Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 297, 245257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garibaldi, L. and Caddy, J.F. (1998) Biogeographic characterization of Mediterranean and Black Sea faunal provinces using GIS procedures. Ocean and Coastal Management 39, 211227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gislason, H., Sinclair, M., Sainsbury, K. and O'Boyle, R. (2000) Symposium overview: incorporating ecosystem objectives within fisheries management. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57, 468475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
González, M. and Sánchez, P. (2002) Cephalopod assemblages caught by trawling along the Iberian Peninsula Mediterranean coast. Scientia Marina 66, 199208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guidetti, P., Fanelli, G., Fraschetti, S., Terlizzi, A. and Boero, F. (2002) Coastal fish indicate human-induced changes in the Mediterranean littoral. Marine Environmental Research 53, 7794.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haedrich, R.L., Rowe, G.T. and Polloni, P.T. (1980) The megabenthic fauna in the deep sea south of New England, USA. Marine Biology 57, 165179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, S., Greenstreet, S.P.R. and Reynolds, J.D. (1999) Structural changes in an exploited fish community: a consequence of differential fishing effects on species with contrasting life histories. Journal of Animal Ecology 68, 617627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kallianiotis, A., Sophronidis, K., Vidoris, P. and Tselepides, A. (2000) Demersal fish and megafaunal assemblages on the Cretan continental shelf and slope (NE Mediterranean): seasonal variation in species density, biomass diversity. Progress in Oceanography 46, 429455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kallianiotis, A., Vidoris, P. and Sylaios, G. (2004) Fish species assemblages and geographical sub-areas in the North Aegean Sea, Greece. Fisheries Research 68, 171187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kara, O.F., Kaya, M., Benli, H.A. and Mater, S. (1999) The productivity and hydrographic properties of the trawl areas of the Middle and Eastern Black Sea. In Güven, K.C.(ed.) The Black Sea Symposium Ecological Problems and Economical Prospects, 16–18 September 1999 Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul: The Black Sea Foundation, pp 205222.Google Scholar
Keister, J.E., Houde, E.D. and Breitburg, D.L. (2000) Effects of bottom-layer hypoxia on abundances and depth distributions of organisms in Patuxent River, Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series 205, 4359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kourafalou, V.H. and Barbopoulos, K. (2003) High resolution simulations on the North Aegean Sea seasonal circulation. Annales Geophysicae 21, 251265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Labropoulou, A. and Papaconstantinou, C. (2000) Community structure of deep-sea demersal fish in the North Aegean Sea (Northeastern Mediterranean). Hydrobiologia 440, 281296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Labropoulou, A. and Papaconstantinou, C. (2004) Community structure and diversity of demersal fish assemblages: the role of fishery. Scientia Marina 68 (Supplement 1), 215226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Labropoulou, A. and Papaconstantinou, C. (2005) Effects of fishing on community structure of demersal fish assemblages. Belgian Journal of Zoology 135, 191197.Google Scholar
Madurell, T., Cartes, J.E. and Labropoulou, M. (2004) Changes in the structure of fish assemblages in a bathyal site of the Ionian Sea (eastern Mediterranean). Fisheries Research 66, 245260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manly, B.F.J. (1991) Randomization and Monte Carlo methods in biology. New York: Chapman & Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, S. and Elliott, M. (1998) Environmental influences on the fish assemblage of the Humber estuary, UK. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 46, 175184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massutí, E., Gordon, J.D.M., Moranta, J., Swan, S.C., Stefanescu, C. and Merrett, N.R. (2004) Mediterranean and Atlantic deep-sea fish assemblages: differences in biomass composition and size-related structure. Scientia Marina 68, 101115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massutí, E. and Reñones, O. (2005) Demersal resource assemblages in the trawl fishing grounds of the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 69, 167181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moranta, J., Quetglas, A., Massutí, E., Guijarro, B., Hidalgo, M. and Diaz, P. (2008) Spatiotemporal variations in deep-sea communities off the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean). Journal of Marine Systems 71, 346366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nilsson, G.E., Hobbs, J-P., Munday, P.L. and Östlund-Nilsson, S. (2004) Coward or braveheart: extreme habitat fidelity through hypoxia tolerance in a coral-dwelling goby. Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 3339. doi:10.1242/jeb.00713.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Okuş, E., Yüksek, A., Uysal, A. and Orhon, V. (1997) Marmara Denizi'nde ekonomik demersal balıklarının stok tayini projesi 1992–1995 Kesin Raporu. İ.Ü. Deniz Bilimleri İşletmeciliği Enstitüsü, TÜBİTAK-DEBAG-116/G, 206 pp. [In Turkish.]Google Scholar
Ordines, F. and Massutí, E. (2009) Relationships between macro-epibenthic communities and fish on the shelf grounds of the western Mediterranean. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 19, 370383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R. and Torres, Jr. F.C. (1998) Fishing down marine food webs. Science 279, 850863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pazi, I. (2008) Water mass properties and chemical characteristics in the Saros Gulf, Northeast Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Journal of Marine Systems 74, 698710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, J.K. and Pihl, L. (1995) Responses to hypoxia of plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, and dab, Limanda limanda, in the south-east Kattegat: distribution and growth. Environmental Biology of Fishes 43, 311321CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pielou, E.C. (1969) An introduction to mathematical ecology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Pihl, L. (1989) Effects of oxygen depletion on demersal fish in coastal areas of the south-east Kattegat. In Rylands, J.S. and Tyler, P.A. (eds) Proceedings of the 23rd European Marine Biology Symposium Swansea, Wales, 5–9 September, 1998, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales. Fredensborg, Denmark: Olsen & Olsen, pp. 431439.Google Scholar
Sarı, E. and Çağatay, M.N. (2001) Distributions of heavy metals in the surface sediments of the Gulf of Saros, NE Aegean Sea. Environment International 26, 169173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shannon, C.E. and Weaver, V. (1949) A mathematical theory of communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Stergiou, K.I. and Pollard, D.A. (1994) A spatial analysis of the commercial fisheries catchesfrom the Greek Aegean Sea. Fisheries Research 20, 109135CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stergiou, K.I., Christou, E.D., Georgopoulos, D., Zenetos, A. and Souvermezoglou, C. (1997) The Hellenic Seas: physics, chemistry, biology and fisheries. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 35, 415538.Google Scholar
Theocharis, A. and Georgopoulos, D. (1993) Dense water formation over the Samothraki and Limnos plateaux in the North Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Continental Shelf Research 13, 919939.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tokat, E. (2006) Saros Körfezi Hidrolojik ve Biyolojik Su Özellikleri (Hydrological and biological water properties of the Saros Bay). MSc thesis Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey. [InTurkish.]Google Scholar
Ungaro, N., Marano, C.A., Vlora, A. and Martino, M. (1998) Space–time variations of demersal fish assemblages in the south-western Adriatic Sea. Vie et Milieu 48, 191201.Google Scholar
Ungaro, N., Marano, C.A., Marsan, R., Martino, M., Marzano, M.C., Strippoli, G. and Vlora, A. (1999) Analysis of demersal species assemblages from trawl surveys in the south Adriatic sea. Aquatic Living Resources 12, 177185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaitsev, Y. and Öztürk, B. (2001) Exotic fish species in the Marmara, Black, Azov and Caspian Seas. İstanbul, Turkey: Turkish Marine Research Foundation.Google Scholar
Zengin, M. and Mutlu, C. (2000) Marmara Denizi'ndeki Balıkçılığın Son Durumu ve Stokların Geleceğine İlişkin Öneriler (The resent state of the fisheries and suggestions related to the future of the stocks at the Marmara Sea). In Öztürk, B., Kadıoğlu, M. and Öztürk, H. (eds) Marmara Denizi 2000 Sempozyumu Bildiriler Kitabı, İstanbul,11–12 Kasım 2000. TÜDAV 5, pp 441–425. [InTurkish.]Google Scholar