A Preliminary Study on the Population Characteristics of the Lessepsian Species Pseudonereis Anomala
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Turk J Zool 31 (2007) 403-410 © TÜB‹TAK A Preliminary Study on the Population Characteristics of the Lessepsian Species Pseudonereis anomala (Polychaeta: Nereididae) in ‹skenderun Bay (Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean) Melih Ertan ÇINAR*, Cem ALTUN Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, 35100 Bornova, ‹zmir - TURKEY Received: 21.11.2006 Abstract: The present paper deals with the population structure and biology of Pseudonereis anomala collected from different shallow-water habitats of ‹skenderun Bay in September 2005. In all, 434 specimens of P. anomala were found in the area. The maximum density and biomass values of the species in the area were 2475 ind. m-2 (on Jania rubens) and 7.85 g m-2 (among the bivalve Brachidontes pharaonis), respectively. The relationships among the biometrical measurements of the P. anomala specimens were assessed using regression and correlation analyses. The growth of P. anomala seems to be allometric. Among the specimens examined, only one specimen had immature oocytes. Only plant remnants were found in the digestive tracts of the dissected specimens. Key Words: Pseudonereis anomala, Nereididae, Polychaeta, Lessepsian, population structure, Levantine Sea, Turkey Lessepsian Tür Pseudonereis anomala’n›n (Polychaeta: Nereididae) ‹skenderun Körfezi’ndeki (Levantin Denizi, Do¤u Akdeniz) Populasyon Özellikleri Üzerine Bir Ön Çal›flma Özet: Bu çal›flma, Eylül 2005’de ‹skenderun Körfezi’nin çeflitli k›y›sal habitatlar›ndan toplanan Pseudonereis anomala’n›n populasyon yap›s›n› ve biyolojisini ele almaktad›r. Bölgede P.anomala’ya ait toplam 434 birey bulunmufltur. Bu türün bölgedeki azami yo¤unluk ve biyokütle de¤erleri s›ras›yla 2475 birey m-2 (istasyon K1, Jania rubens üzerinde) ve 7,85 g m-2 (istasyon K5, Brachidontes pharaonis üzerinde) olarak bulunmufltur. ‹skenderun Körfezi’ndeki P. anomala bireylerinin biyometrik ölçümleri aras›ndaki iliflkiler, regresyon ve korelasyon analizleri kullan›larak saptanm›flt›r. P. anomala’n›n büyümesi muhtemelen allometriktir. ‹ncelenen bireyler aras›nda, sadece bir bireyin olgun olmayan yumurtalar tafl›d›¤› bulunmufltur. Disekte edilen bireylerin sindirim kanallar›nda sadece bitki kal›nt›lar› bulunmufltur. Anahtar Sözcükler: Pseudonereis anomala, Nereididae, Polychaeta, Lessepsian, populasyon yap›s›, Levantin Denizi, Türkiye Introduction 2005). The main route of introduction of these species to Human-mediated species introduction is one of the the Mediterranean is by shipping and via the Suez Canal. major factors adversely affecting biological diversity Pseudonereis anomala Gravier, 1901, a Lessepsian (Elton, 1958). Although there is an increasing awareness species (i.e. a species that migrated from the Red Sea to of this problem at local and global levels, preventing the the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal), is known spread of and eradicating alien species is becoming to have been well-acclimated to environmental conditions difficult as global trade by shipping increases daily and of the eastern Mediterranean (Ben-Eliahu, 1975; Çinar many alien species have already achieved perpetuating and Ergen, 1995). It is a common species in hard-bottom populations in the Mediterranean. In all, 749 alien species communities in the Red Sea, and the Indian and Pacific are known from the Mediterranean Sea (Zenetos et al., oceans (Wu et al., 1985). In the Mediterranean Sea, this 2005) and 277 from the Turkish coasts (Çinar et al., species was first reported by Fauvel (1937) (off * E-mail: [email protected] 403 A Preliminary Study on the Population Characteristics of the Lessepsian Species Pseudonereis anomala (Polychaeta: Nereididae) in ‹skenderun Bay (Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean) Alexandria, Egypt) and subsequently was found along the Material and Methods Israeli coast (Fauvel, 1955; Ben-Eliahu, 1975), the A cruise to the Turkish Levantine coast was Lebanese coast (Laubier, 1966), the Cypriot coast (Ben- undertaken in September 2005 to collect samples of Eliahu, 1972; Çinar, 2005), and the Turkish Levantine benthos from different depths and habitats. In this study coast (Ben-Eliahu, 1989; Ergen and Çinar, 1997). only samples taken from ‹skenderun Bay were evaluated. Recently, this species was found off the Turkish and Scuba diving and snorkeling were used at 8 shallow water Greek coasts of the Aegean and Ionian Seas (Çinar and stations (ca. 0-5 m; Figure 1). Specimens of Pseudonereis Ergen, 2005; Kambouroglou and Nicolaidou, 2006). anomala were only found on algae [Ulva sp., Jania rubens Clearly, this species has become an important invasive (Linnaeus) Lamouroux, Cystoseira sp., Padina pavonica component of shallow-water benthic communities of the (Linnaeus) Thivy] on rocks, and among Brachidontes eastern Mediterranean; however, no study has yet pharaonis (P. Fischer, 1870) at depths of 0-3 m. At all focused on its population characteristics in the Turkish stations samples were taken within a 20 × 20 cm region, although some data about its reproductive and quadrat. feeding behavior are given by Çinar and Ergen (2005). In the laboratory the samples were sorted under a This paper presents the population and bio-ecological stereomicroscope and specimens of Pseudonereis features of Pseudonereis anomala collected from anomala were separated from other taxa, identified, and different habitats in ‹skenderun Bay (Levantine coast of counted. The body length and width at chaetiger 10 Turkey) in September 2005. (excluding parapodia) of unbroken specimens (n = 93) . Figure 1. Map of the study area and sampling site locations. 404 M. E. ÇINAR, C. ALTUN were determined with an ocular micrometer. The wet- The highest mean population density (550 ind. m-2) of weight of specimens was estimated using a balance Pseudonereis anomala was found on samples of the sensitive to 0.0001 g. All specimens measured were Lessepsian mussel, Branchidontes pharaonis, whereas dissected to observe their gametes and gut contents. samples of the brown alga Padina pavonica contained only To characterize population structures of Pseudonereis a few individuals (Figure 3). The more structurally anomala in the area, regression and Pearson product- complex brown alga, Cystoseira sp., supported large moment correlation analyses were performed on the data individuals of P. anomala and the highest mean biomass set to assess the relationships among the biometrical score of the species was encountered in this habitat measurements taken. (Figure 3). The mean density and biomass values of Pseudonereis Results anomala on the mussel Brachidontes pharaonis varied according to station; 858 ind. m-2 and 3.83 g m-2 at In all, 434 specimens of Pseudonereis anomala were station K5, and 242 ind. m-2 and 1.83 g m-2 at station found at 8 stations located in and around ‹skenderun Bay. K1. The mean density of Pseudonereis anomala at stations A similar finding was noted with regard to the red varied from 779 ind. m-2 (station K1) to 8 ind. m-2 alga Jania rubens. The population and biomass values of (station K11), and the wet-weight biomass ranged from -2 -2 Pseudonereis anomala were higher on the alga samples 6 g m (station K7) to 0.04 g m (station K11 (Figure collected at station K1 and these values diminished at the 2). The maximum density and biomass values of P. anomala in ‹skenderun Bay were 2475 ind. m-2 (at station more northern stations (Figure 4). K1, on Jania rubens) and 7.85 g m-2 (at station K5, on The individual body length of Pseudonereis anomala in Brachidontes pharaonis), respectively. ‹skenderun Bay ranged from 0.2 to 27.3 mm (Figure 5); ) -2 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 Mean population density (ind. m 0 K1 K5 K7 K7a K8a K9 K10 K11 ) 7 -2 6 5 4 3 2 1 Mean biomass (wet weight g m 0 K1 K5 K7 K7a K8a K9 K10 K11 Stations Figure 2. Mean density and biomass values of Pseudonereis anomala at stations in ‹skenderun Bay. Bar represents + standard error. 405 A Preliminary Study on the Population Characteristics of the Lessepsian Species Pseudonereis anomala (Polychaeta: Nereididae) in ‹skenderun Bay (Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean) ) -2 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 Mean population density (ind. m 0 Jania Cystoseira sp. Brachidontes Ulva sp. Padina rubens pharaonis pavonico ) -2 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Mean biomass (wet weight g m Jania Cystoseira sp. Brachidontes Ulva sp. Padina rubens pharaonis pavonico Habitats Figure 3. Mean density and biomass values of Pseudonereis anomala in habitats in ‹skenderun Bay. Bar represents + standard error. ) -2 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 Mean population density (ind. m 0 K1 K5 K10 K11 3.5 ) -2 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Mean biomass (wet weight g m K1 K5 K10 K11 Stations Figure 4. Mean density and biomass values of Pseudonereis anomala on the alga Jania rubens in ‹skenderun Bay. Bar represents + standard error. The under-water photograph of J. rubens was taken at station 10 by Alp Can. 406 M. E. ÇINAR, C. ALTUN 40 24 n = 93 20 30 16 20 12 8 10 Number of individuals Number of individuals 4 0 0 51015202530 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 Body length (mm) Body width (mm) 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 Number of individuals 10 0 03551015202530 Body weight (mg) Figure 5. The length, width, and weight frequency histograms of individuals of Pseudonereis anomala collected from ‹skenderun Bay in September 2005. most commonly the length ranged between 5 and 10 mm 40 y = 0.0035x2.55 (n = 34). The body width varied between 0.2 and 2.46 35 R2 = 0.889, r = 0.89, P < 0.05 30 n = 93 mm, with individuals of 0.6-0.8 mm body width being 25 dominant (Figure 5). Although the individual biomass of 20 15 the species varied from 2 to 35 mg in the area, 75% of 10 the population had a biomass value between 2 and 5 mg, Body weight (mg) 5 0 showing the importance of juvenile individuals in the 010203051525 population (Figure 5).