Distribution of Bottom Vegetation in the Eastern Part of Sevastopol Bay

N. V. Mironova, T. V. Pankeeva*

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

* e-mail: tatyanapankeeva@yandex.ru

Abstract

The paper studies the current state of macrophytobenthos in the eastern part of Sevastopol Bay. The study collected information on the distribution of key macrophyte species and compared changes in their contribution for over 40 years. Hydrobotanical surveys were performed using standard methodology on the same profiles during the summers of 1977, 2017, and 2024. Gongolaria barbata and Ericaria crinita were found to dominate the bottom vegetation composition at present (2017 and 2024), and green algae (Cladophora laetevirens, Ulva intestinalis, U. rigida) were also abundant. In 2024, almost all profiles at 0.5 m depth showed a decrease in total macrophyte biomass and the proportion of G. barbata and E. crinita due to the damaging effects of the extreme storm. However, at depths of 1 and 3 m, quantitative macrophytobenthos biomass values were about twice as high as those in 2017. A comparative analysis of macrophytobenthos distribution for almost half a century showed that the most significant transformation of the vegetation component was observed in the eastern part of the bay, where higher aquatic vegetation (Zostera marina, Z. noltei, Stuckenia pectinata, Zannichellia sp., Ruppia sp.) was replaced by thickets of perennial algae (G. barbata and E. crinita). These changes are probably due to increase in water salinity in the Chyornaya River estuarine zone and changes in the intensity of longshore sediment fluxes in the water area. In the eastern part of the bay, a change in the predominance of Ulva species to G. barbata and E. crinita was recorded during this period, possibly indicating some improvement in environmental quality. The study results can be applied during monitoring of the marine environment state in the bay, as well as for developing coastal protection measures.

Keywords

macrophytobenthos, Gongolaria barbata, Ericaria crinita, Ulva rigida, Cladophora laetevirens, Black Sea, Sevastopol

Acknowledgments

This work was carried out within the framework of IBSS state research assignment “Comprehensive study of the functioning mechanisms of marine biotechnological complexes with the aim of obtaining bioactive substances from hydrobionts” (No. 124022400152-1).

For citation

Mironova, N.V. and Pankeeva, T.V., 2025. Distribution of Bottom Vegetation in the Eastern Part of Sevastopol Bay. Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea, (3), pp. 67–80.

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