The Current State of Malacofauna at Soft Bottoms in the Kazachya Bay Head (the Black Sea)

M. V. Makarov

A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Sevastopol, Russia

e-mail: mihaliksevast@inbox.ru

Abstract

In 2011–2012 and 2018–2019, for the first time in a seasonal aspect, the taxonomic composition, abundance, biomass and trophic structure of bivalves and gastropods were studied at two stations at the Kazachya Bay head. In total, 24 species (taxa) of Mollusca were found, of which 13 belong to the class Gastropoda, 11 – to the class Bivalvia. The average abundance fluctuated from 3913 ind./m2 in 2011–2012 to 1238 ind./m2 in 2018–2019. The share of gastropods was 55 and 75 % in 2011–2012 and 2018–2019 respectively, share of bivalves was 45 and 25 % respectively. Some decrease of abundance of Mollusca in the last years was found: gastropods – 2 times, bivalves – 4 times. Average biomass in 2018–2019 was 26.5 g/m2, including 56 % of gastropods and 44 % of bivalves. In general, in both periods the gastropod Hydrobia acuta (Draprnaud, 1805) was dominated at abundance. The bivalve Cerastoderma glaucum (Bruguiere, 1789) prevailed at biomass. In general, at the Kazachya Bay head, the maximum abundance of all mollusks was recorded in late summer – early autumn. The minimum abundance was observed in May and October. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of taxocene Mollusca in the bay and in the neighboring Kamyshovaya Bay were compared with the data obtained by other researchers. Some changes in some species have been found: the amount of species and abundance of H. acuta increased, whereas biomass of C. glaucum decreased.

Keywords

bivalves, gastropods, abundance, biomass, seasonal dynamics, trophic structure.

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Yu. V. Belousova, Junior Research Associate of the Ecology Parasitology Department, for assistance in sampling as well as to V. P. Chekalov, Junior Research Associate of the Animal Physiology and Biochemistry Department, for salinity evaluation.

The article is prepared under State Order “Patterns of Formation and Anthropogenic Transformation of Biodiversity and Bioresources of the Azov and Black Sea Basin and other Areas of the World Ocean”, state registration number: АААА-А18-118020890074-2.

For citation

Makarov, M.V., 2020. The Current State of Malacofauna at Soft Bottoms in the Kazachya Bay Head (the Black Sea). Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea, (1), pp. 119-130. doi:10.22449/2413-5577-2020-1-119-130 (in Russian).

DOI

10.22449/2413-5577-2020-1-119-130

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