The Brachyura (Decapoda) community of Zostera marina meadows in the coastal area of the southern Black Sea (Sinop Peninsula, Turkey)

摘要

The brachyuran (Decapoda) taxocoenosis of a shallow meadow of Zostera marina was studied in a coastal area of the Sinop Peninsula (southern Black Sea, Turkey). Specimens were collected monthly between February 2002 and January 2003 with a beam trawl at depths of 5-20 m during benthic surveys carried out off the Sinop coast. A total of 3206 individuals belonging to 9 species was collected. The structure of the taxocoenosis along the year is dominated by portunid crabs; among these, Liocarcinus vernalis (Risso, 1816) is the most dominant species (36.87%). The largest Brachyura community in the Zostera marina beds was recorded in the summer months (June and July).