The International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE)
Abstract
The spatial and temporal fish species assemblages were analyzed in the Köprüçay River Estuary. Fish were sampled monthly by different nets from October 2006 and March 2008. A total of 2419 individuals distributed in 12 families and 23 species were collected. The most numerically abundant species were Mugil cephalus (32,9%) and Liza aurata (17,4%). The fish comprised 11 freshwater, 9 marine, 1 estuarine and 2 migrant. Evenness and diversity index showed a consistent seasonal pattern. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that salinity correlated with the seasonal pattern in the fish assemblage. Key words: Community composition, Salinity, Estuary, Köprüçay River, Mediterranea