Mollusk fauna associated with Cystoseira barbata (Stockhouse) C. Agardh, 1820 in the Sea of Marmara (Turkey)

Mollusk species associated with Cystoseira barbata were examined in the Sea of Marmara in 2012 at 14 sampling sites with a depth ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 m. A total of 18 468 specimens belonging to three classes (Polyplacophora, Gastropoda and Bivalvia) and 30 species were identified. Alvania mamillata Risso, 1826 is a new record for the marine mollusk fauna of the Sea of Marmara. The number of species at the sampling sites varied from 2 to 11 (400 cm(-2)), the density ranged between 758 and 63 083 ind. m(-2), and wet weight between 0.4 and 34.3 g m(-2). Gastropoda were the richest class, represented by 22 species and 7611 individuals. The families Rissoidae, Mytilidae and Pyramidellidae were represented by the largest number of species. The most dominant mollusk species in C. barbata facies were Mytilaster minimus (Poli, 1795) (37.77%), Rissoa splendida Eichwald, 1830 (27.20%), Mytilaster lineatus (Gmelin, 1791) (18.69%) and Bittium reticulatum (da Costa, 1778) (6.89%). However, the mollusks R. splendida (86%), M. lineatus (71%), M. minimus (69%) and Steromphala adansonii (Payraudeau, 1826) (67%) were characterized by the highest values of the frequency index. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the main factors affecting the assemblages of mollusks were the content of total nitrogen, the maximum thallus height, algal wet weight and temperature

Soft bottom molluscs (Caudofaveata, Polyplacophora, Gastropoda and Scaphopoda) fauna of the Sea of Marmara

The present study deals with the molluscspecies, except for Solenogastres, Bivalvia and Cephalopoda, sampled from the softsubstrata of the Sea of Marmara in 2013. The benthic material was collected at 50sampling sites in different depths (10 m, 25 m, 50 m, 100 m and 200 m) using aBox Core sampler. As a result of the faunistic analysis of the benthic material,a total of 210 species and 22244 individuals belonging to the identified taxa werecounted. Ondina dilucida (Monterosato,1884) is a new record for the mollusc fauna of Turkiye, and 19 species [Ischnochiton rissoi (Payraudeau, 1826), Sinezona cingulata (O.G. Costa, 1861), Cerithiopsis diadema Monterosato, 1874, Melanella levantina (Oliverio, Buzzurro&amp; Villa, 1994), Setia fusca(Philippi, 1844), Setia turriculataMonterosato, 1844, Granulina occulta(Monterosato, 1869), Liostomia clavula(Lovén, 1846), Odostomia angustaJeffreys, 1867, Ondina diaphana(Jeffreys, 1848), Parthenina dollfusi(Kobelt, 1903), Parthenina juliae (deFolin, 1872), Parthenina palazzii(Micali, 1984), Turbonilla gradataBucquoy, Dautzenberg &amp; Dollfus, 1883, Turbonillahamata Nordsieck, 1972, Turbonillapumila Seguenza, G., 1876, Acteonmonterosatoi Dautzenberg, 1889, Antalispanorma (Chenu, 1843), Dischidespolitus (S. Wood, 1842)] are new reports to the faunistic inventory of the Seaof Marmara. The most dominant species were Bittiumreticulatum (da Costa, 1778) (59.1%; total of 13147 ind.) and Megastomia conoidea (Brocchi, 1814)(3.4%; total of 747 ind.). Besides, Bittiumreticulatum and Hyala vitrea(Montagu, 1803) had the highest frequency values (37.1% and 28.7%) in the area.&nbsp;</p

The genus Alvania (Gastropoda: Rissoidae) along the Turkish Aegean coast with the description of a new species

This study deals with the distribution of the species of the genus Alvania along the Turkish Aegean coast. The investigated material was collected from different habitats (soft and hard bottoms, and macrophyte beds) at a depth range of 0-875 m, at 39 stations along the Aegean coast of Turkey between 1995 and 2014. Among the analysed benthic material, 537 living specimens and 249 empty shells belonging to 20 species of the genus Alvania were obtained. Alvania marmarisensis is described as a new species. Alvania hispidula was recorded for the first time from the Turkish Aegean coast. Alvania mamillata was found to be the most widely distributed species in the study area, while Alvania colossophilus was the rarest one. Alvania cimicoides and Alvania testae were found in the deepest samples (between 93 and 875 m). Certain taxonomic and ecological characteristics of the identified species, along with photographs, are also provided

Mollusc fauna of Kemer Bay (Sea of Marmara)

In the present study, mollusc species distributed in the Kemer Bay (Sea of Marmara) were determined seasonally (November, February, May, and August) in the years 2010 and 2011. The benthic samples were collected from different biotopes in 16 stations at depth ranging between 0.2 and 5 m by using a quadrate sampling gear. As a result of the evaluation of collected benthic materials, a total of 66 mollusc species belonging to 3 classes (Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, and Bivalvia) were identified. When the number of species and individuals are compared based on the seasons, maximum number of species (46 species) and individuals (168825 ind. m(-2)) were counted in autumn and spring, respectively. Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819) and Mytilaster lineatus (Gmelin, 1791) were the most abundant species in all the seasons. Whereas, Bittium reticulatum (da Costa, 1778), Rissoa membranacea (Montagu, 1803), and Tricolia pullus pullus (Linnaeus, 1758) were characterized as species having the highest frequency index values in all seasons

Circulus (Mollusca-Gastropoda) species of the Turkish coasts with a note on the presence of Circulus octoliratus (Carpenter, 1856)

The present study is dealing with three Circulus species recorded along the Turkish coasts (Iskenderun Bay, Levantine coast of Turkiye). Of the identified species, Circulus novemcarinatus and Circulus octoliratus are non-indigenous species originated outside the Mediterranean Sea, whereas Circulus striatus is a native one distributed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. While Circulus novemcarinatus was recorded at depths between 9 and 60 m, Circulus octoliratus and Circulus striatus were encountered at shallow depths (5-11.7 m, respectively). Within the present study some morphological and distributional characteristics of the investigated species are described

Spatial distribution pattern of macroinvertebrates associated with the black mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the Sea of Marmara

The present study deals with benthic community structures of mussel beds (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in the Sea of Marmara, including the canakkale and Istanbul Straits. The Sea of Marmara's mussel beds were mainly formed by small-sized mussel individuals (shell length < 4 cm). Macrobenthic species associated with the mussels support high diversity in the region, comprising 184 species belonging to 11 taxonomic groups. The annelids (38% of total number of species) were the most diverse group and arthropods (48% of total number of individuals) the most abundant. Motile species numerically dominated mussel beds at stations, while epibiont fauna were relatively low in terms of number of species and abundance. Five different species assemblages were identified in the region, which appeared to be mainly influenced by some biotic (e.g. mussel biomass, alien species) and abiotic (e.g. salinity) factors. The assemblages were mainly characterized by having high abundances of three crustacean (Jassa marmorata, Hyale schmidti and Melita palmata) and one polychaete (Platynereis dumerilii) species. Seven alien species were found at stations, of which the small-sized anthozoon Diadumene cincta accounted for 86% of total number of individuals of alien species