Ichthyoplankton off the Coast of Crimea and its Trophic Relationships in Plankton Community During the Changing Hydrological Seasons (October 2022)

T. N. Klimova1,*, A. A. Subbotin1, B. E. Anninsky1, I. V. Vdodovich1, D. A. Zabrodin1, T. N. Petrova2, N. A. Datsyk1

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

2 T. I. Vyazemsky Karadag Scientific Station – Nature Reserve of RAS, Branch of A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas RAS, Feodosiya, Russia

* e-mail: tnklim@ibss-ras.ru

Abstract

As a continuation of research on the adaptation of reproduction of natural fish populations to regional changes of hydrological regime, ichthyoplankton studies were performed in the Black Sea in the autumn of 2022. The paper provides data on species composition and spatial distribution of ichthyo-, meso- and gelatinous macroplankton in coastal, shelf, and deep-sea areas near the Crimean Peninsula, obtained within 2–19 October during cruise 124 of R/V Professor Vodyanitsky. We identified eggs and larvae of 12 warm-water fish species and 4 temperate-water fish species. The average abundance of eggs was 2.34 ind·m−2, whereas the average abundance of larvae was 2.55 ind·m−2, with the maximum abundance of 16 and 18 ind·m−2 for eggs and larvae. A high number of species and low dominance (dominance index was 0.17) favoured the development of ichthyoplankton complexes with a high species diversity index (3.03), high richness index (20.31) and high evenness index (0.77). Optimal temperature conditions induced the formation of zooplankton communities dominated by small warm-water copepods, which are the primary food source for both the fish larvae and the gelatinous macroplankton. In spite of their trophic competition, gelatinous macroplankton apparently did not influence the survival of fish larvae. The spatial distribution of gelatinous macroplankton was mosaic and it was presumably caused by interpopulational trophic relationships, such as predation and competition, inside the macroplankton community. The most probable cause of the regional differences in species composition and abundance of ichthyo-, meso- and macroplankton were the conditions for the formation of the thermodynamic water structure, coinciding with the gradual seasonal cooling of the upper layer of the sea and the transition of surface circulation from summer-type to winter-type. Within the study region, the shallow waters of the southeastern coastal area experienced earlier cooling than the deeper areas near the South Coast of Crimea, which were well-protected from the cold northerly wind.

Keywords

ichthyoplankton, mesoplankton, macroplankton, fish larva feeding, species diversity, spatial distribution, hydrological regime, Black Sea

Acknowledgments

This work was carried out under the state research assignments of IBSS “Biodiversity as the basis for the sustainable functioning of marine ecosystems, criteria and scientific principles for its conservation” (no. 124022400148-4); “Functional, metabolic, and molecular-genetic mechanisms of adaptation of marine organisms to the conditions of extreme ecotopes of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and other regions of the World Ocean” (no. 124030100137-6) and “Investigation of the fundamental characteristics of marine hydrobi onts that ensure their functioning in ecosystems and provide the foundation for their rational use and conservation” (no. 124030100100-0).

For citation

Klimova, T.N., Subbotin, A.A., Anninsky, B.E., Vdodovich, I.V., Zabrodin, D.A., Petrova, T.N., and Datsyk, N.A., 2025. Ichthyoplankton off the Coast of Crimea and its Trophic Relationships in Plankton Community During the Changing Hydrological Seasons (October 2022). Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea, (4), pp. 97–116.

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