See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310626925 Macrobenthic Fauna Associated with the Invasive Alien Species Brachidontes pharaonis (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the Levantine Sea Conference Paper · September 2016 CITATIONS READS 0 217 12 authors, including: Melih Ertan Çinar Bilal Ozturk Ege University Ege University 232 PUBLICATIONS 6,443 CITATIONS 74 PUBLICATIONS 1,416 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Kerem bakır Tuncer Katagan Ege University Ege University 65 PUBLICATIONS 852 CITATIONS 172 PUBLICATIONS 2,566 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Mapping of marine key habitats and assessing their vulnerability to fishing activities in Foça Special Environmental Protection Area, Turkey View project Capacity Building on Marine Strategy Framework Directive in Turkey View project All content following this page was uploaded by Güley Kurt on 22 November 2016. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. MACROBENTHIC FAUNA ASSOCIATED WITH THE INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES BRACHIDONTES PHARAONIS (MOLLUSCA: BIVALVIA) IN THE LEVANTINE SEA Melih Ertan Çinar1, Bilal Öztürk1, Kerem Bakir1, Tuncer Katağan1, Alper Doğan1, Şermin Açik Çinar2, Güley Kurt-Şahin3, Tahir Özcan4, Ertan Dağli1, Banu Bitlis Bakir2, Ferah Koçak2, Fevzi Kirkim1 1Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, Bornova, İzmir, Turkey 2Dokuz Eylül University, Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, İnciraltı, İzmir, Turkey 3Sinop University, Faculty of Art and Sciences, Department of Biology, Sinop, Turkey 4Iskenderun Technical University, Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology, Hatay, Turkey The invasive alien mytilid species, Brachidontes pharaonis, dominates the medio-littoral and upper-infrallitoral zones of the Levantine Sea. It forms a biogenic habitat in the area and host a number of alien and native species. Three-replicated samples of Brachidontes pharaonis were taken by a quadrate of 20x20 cm in dimension at 7 stations along the Levantine coast of Turkey in September 2005. Examinations of samples yielded 189 macro- benthic invertebrate species and 23407 specimens belonging to 13 taxonomic groups. Polychaeta accounted for up to 48% of the total number of species, whereas Mollusca comprised 46% of the total number of individuals. The dominant species in the habitat were Stenothoe dollfusi (12%), Spirobranchus kraussi (10%), Mytilaster minimus (7%) and Elasmopus pocillimanus (12%). The species with the highest frequency values were Pseudonereis anomala, Phascolosoma stephensoni and E. pocillimanus. The highest faunal density and the biomass (wet weight) in the habitat were estimated as 72550 ind.m2 and 19178 g.m2, respectively. The species number in samples changed between 14 and 47 species in the area. The mean diversity index values ranged from 1.72 to 2.27, and the mean evenness index values from 0.37 to 0.62. In the investigated area, two faunal assemblages were encountered, and the species responsible for the dissimilarity of the assemblages were E. pocillimanus, Syllis prolifera and Stenothoe dollfusi. The environmental variables best explaining variation in zoobenthic community structures were salinity, dissolved oxygen and nitrogen in the water column. This study was financially supported by TUBITAK (project no: 104Y065). 66 Page View publication stats.