A Comprehensive Review of Crustacean Fauna in the Black Sea with Emphasis on Amphipod Diversity

Ertan Karahanlı

EN TR

A Comprehensive Review of Crustacean Fauna in the Black Sea with Emphasis on Amphipod Diversity

Abstract

This study comprehensively examines the crustacean fauna of the Black Sea, focusing particularly on amphipod species diversity. This compilation examines studies conducted in various regions of the Black Sea, particularly along the Turkish coast, and evaluates the species distribution, ecological roles, and habitat preferences of crustacean groups living in benthic ecosystems. According to literature, more than 60 amphipod species have been recorded along the Black Sea coast. These species are generally concentrated in macrophyte communities such as Zostera marina and Ulva spp., as well as on sandy and rocky substrates. Detailed taxonomic studies conducted in recent years have also revealed the presence of previously unreported new species and invasive species. Studies conducted in the Sinop, Samsun, and Istanbul areas, in particular, indicate that the region possesses high biodiversity, encompassing both native and alien species. The study emphasizes that crustacean groups play important roles as biological indicators in the Black Sea ecosystem and can be used to monitor environmental changes, pollution, and climate impacts. Updating regional species lists, expanding habitat-based monitoring programs, and increasing molecular-level phylogenetic analyses are recommended. In this context, the study provides a scientific basis for the conservation and sustainable management of benthic biodiversity along the Black Sea coast.

Keywords

Crustacea , Amphipoda , Black Sea , species distribution , Turkish coasts

Karadeniz'deki Kabuklu Faunasının Amfipod Çeşitliliğine Odaklanarak Kapsamlı Bir İncelemesi

Öz

Bu çalışma, özellikle amfipod tür çeşitliliğine odaklanarak Karadeniz'in kabuklu faunasını kapsamlı bir şekilde incelemektedir. Bu derleme, Karadeniz'in çeşitli bölgelerinde, özellikle Türkiye kıyılarında yürütülen çalışmaları incelemekte ve bentik ekosistemlerde yaşayan kabuklu gruplarının tür dağılımını, ekolojik rollerini ve habitat tercihlerini değerlendirmektedir. Literatürde, Karadeniz kıyılarında 60'tan fazla amfipod türü kaydedilmiştir. Bu türler genellikle Zostera marina ve Ulva spp. gibi makrofit topluluklarında ve kumlu ve kayalık yüzeylerde yoğunlaşmaktadır. Son yıllarda yürütülen detaylı taksonomik çalışmalar, daha önce bildirilmemiş yeni türlerin ve istilacı türlerin varlığını da ortaya koymuştur. Özellikle Sinop, Samsun ve İstanbul bölgelerinde yürütülen çalışmalar, bölgenin hem yerli hem de yabancı türleri kapsayan yüksek bir biyoçeşitliliğe sahip olduğunu göstermektedir. Çalışma, kabuklu gruplarının Karadeniz ekosisteminde biyolojik gösterge olarak önemli roller oynadığını ve çevresel değişiklikleri, kirliliği ve iklim etkilerini izlemek için kullanılabileceğini vurgulamaktadır. Bölgesel tür listelerinin güncellenmesi, habitat temelli izleme programlarının genişletilmesi ve moleküler düzeyde filogenetik analizlerin artırılması önerilmektedir. Bu bağlamda, çalışma Karadeniz kıyılarındaki bentik biyoçeşitliliğin korunması ve sürdürülebilir yönetimi için bilimsel bir temel sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kabuklular , Amfipodlar , Karadeniz , tür dağılımı , Türkiye kıyıları

References

L. Bat and M. Sezgin, “Biological diversity of the Turkish Black Sea coast,” Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 683–692, 2011, doi: 10.4194/trjfas.2011.0419.
L. Holthuis, Report on a Collection of Crustacea Decapoda and Stomatopoda from Turkey and the Balkans, vol. 47, no. 1. Leiden, The Netherlands: Zoologische Verhandelingen, 1961, pp. 1–67.
A. Kocataş, “Contributions to the knowledge of the crustacean fauna of the Black Sea coasts of Turkey,” Ege University Journal of Science, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 73–92, 1981.
T. Katağan, “Studies on the decapod and peracarid crustaceans of Turkish seas,” Ege University Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 45–58, 1985.
G. Gönlügür-Demirci, “Crustacea fauna of the Turkish Black Sea coasts: A checklist,” Crustaceana, vol. 79, no. 9, pp. 1129–1139, 2006.
S. De Grave, “Benchmarking global biodiversity of decapod Crustacea,” Journal of Crustacean Biology, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 1–10, 2023, doi: 10.1093/jcbiol/ruad013.
A. Mülayim, “Soft-bottom crustacean fauna from the Turkish coast of the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea with new records,” Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 1–15, 2021, doi: 10.26881/oahs-2021.1.
E. Mutlu, “Depth-related gradient of soft-bottom crustacean assemblages along the Turkish continental shelf,” Turkish Journal of Zoology, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 113–125, 2013, doi: 10.3906/zoo-1201-11.
S. Manokaran, “Baseline patterns of structural and functional diversity of benthic amphipods in the Arabian Gulf,” Marine Environmental Research, vol. 165, p. 105236, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105236.
M. Sezgin, A. Kocataş, and T. Katağan, “Amphipod fauna of the Turkish central Black Sea region,” Turkish Journal of Zoology, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 57–61, 2001.

J. W. Martin and G. E. Davis, An Updated Classification of the Recent Crustacea, Science Series No. 39. Los Angeles, CA, USA: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 2001.
K. Anger, The Biology of Decapod Crustacean Larvae. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: A. A. Balkema Publishers, 2001.
R. C. Brusca, W. Moore, and S. M. Shuster, Invertebrates, 3rd ed. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2016.
A. M. Queirós et al., “A bioturbation classification of European marine infaunal invertebrates,” Ecological Indicators, vol. 31, pp. 133–141, 2013.
R. Väinölä et al., “Global diversity of amphipods (Amphipoda; Crustacea) in freshwater,” Hydrobiologia, vol. 595, no. 1, pp. 241–255, 2008.
M. Sabatini and T. Kiørboe, “Egg production, growth and development of the marine copepod Acartia tonsa in relation to food availability,” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 104, pp. 57–68, 1994.
Anonymous, “Amphipoda database,” 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.iopan.gda.pl/~wiktor/amphipoda/amphipodas.html
L. E. Hughes and S. T. Ahyong, “Collecting and processing amphipods,” Journal of Crustacean Biology, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 584–588, 2016.
N. Galic and V. E. Forbes, “Effects of temperature on the performance of a freshwater amphipod,” Hydrobiologia, vol. 785, no. 1, pp. 35–46, 2017.
A. Kocataş and T. Katağan, “Crustacean fauna of Turkish coastal lagoons,” Rapports et Procès-Verbaux des Réunions, vol. 28, pp. 231–233, 1983.
E. Mutlu, M. Ünsal, and F. Bingel, “A preliminary view on the faunal assemblage of soft-bottom crustaceans along the nearshores of the Turkish Black Sea,” Acta Adriatica, vol. 33, no. 1–2, pp. 177–189, 1992.
A. S. Ateş and M. Sezgin, “Upogebia pusilla (Petagna, 1792) in the Turkish Black Sea fauna,” Turkish Journal of Marine Sciences, vol. 4, pp. 125–129, 1998.
A. Ateş, and & Sezgin, M. “Upogebia pusilla (Petagna, 1792) (Decapoda, Upogebiidae) in the Turkish Black Sea Fauna,” Turkish Journal of Zoology, vol. 33, no. 1/2, pp. 177–189, 1998.
A. Ateş, “Liocarcinus depurator (Linnaeus, 1758) and Brachynotussexdentatus (Risso, 1827) (Decapoda, Brachyura), Two New Records for the Turkish Black Sea Fauna” Turkish Journal of Zoology, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 115–118, 1999.
M. Akbulut and M. Sezgin, “Orchestia cavimana in the Turkish Black Sea fauna,” Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, vol. 6, no. 3, 2000.
M. Sezgin, A. Kocataş, and T. Katağan, “Amphipod fauna of the Turkish Central Black Sea region,” Turkish Journal of Zoology, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 57–61, 2001.
M. Kılıç, “Recent Ostracoda fauna of the Black Sea coasts of Turkey,” Turkish Journal of Zoology, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 375–388, 2001.
C. Kubanç, “Ostracoda fauna of the Black Sea coasts of Istanbul,” Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, vol. 9, no. 2, 2003.
A. Kocataş and T. Katağan, “The decapod crustacean fauna of the Turkish seas,” Zoology in the Middle East, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 63–74, 2003.
A. Öktener and J.-P. Trilles, “Report on cymothoids collected from marine fishes in Turkey,” Acta Adriatica, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 145–154, 2004.
G. Gönlügür et al., “Contributions to the knowledge on benthic crustaceans from Turkish Black Sea coast,” in Proc. Int. Workshop on Black Sea Benthos, 2004, p. 171.
G. Gönlügür-Demirci, “Crustacea fauna of the Turkish Black Sea coasts: A checklist,” Crustaceana, vol. 79, no. 9, pp. 1129–1139, 2006.
F. Kırkım et al., “Some benthic soft-bottom crustaceans along the Anatolian coast of the Black Sea,” Crustaceana, pp. 1323–1332, 2006.
S. Bilgin et al., “The Brachyura community of Zostera marina meadows,” Crustaceana, pp. 717–730, 2007.
M. Sezgin et al., “On the presence of the non-native estuarine shrimp in the Black Sea,” 2007.
S. Bilgin, O. Ozen, and A. S. Ates, “Spatial and temporal variation of caridean shrimps,” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 79, no. 4, pp. 671–678, 2008.
A. S. Ateş et al., “An updated list of decapod crustaceans on the Turkish coast,” North-Western Journal of Zoology, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 209–217, 2010.
A. M. Gozler et al., “Seasonal changes of invertebrate fauna,” African Journal of Biotechnology, vol. 9, no. 51, pp. 8852–8859, 2010.
M. Sezgin and E. A. Aydemir Çil, “Rocky bottom crustacean fauna of Sinop,” Zoologia Baetica, vol. 21, pp. 5–14, 2010.
H. Balkis et al., “Decapod crustacean fauna of Istanbul,” Crustaceana, pp. 897–908, 2012.
A. S. Ateş et al., “Exotic crustaceans of the Turkish coast,” 2013.
M. Sezgin and E. A. Çil, “Crustacean fauna of a mussel cultivated raft system,” Arthropods, vol. 2, no. 2, p. 89, 2013.
D. Yağlıoğlu et al., “First record of blue crab from the Turkish Black Sea coast,” Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 13–17, 2014.
F. Kırkım et al., “Marine isopods of Sinop Bay,” Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 264–269, 2014.
M. Aydın et al., “Biological characteristics of Pachygrapsus marmoratus,” Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, vol. 94, no. 7, pp. 1441–1449, 2014.
F. Perçin-Paçal et al., “An updated checklist of ostracods in Turkey,” Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 20–33, 2015.
E. Cavdar, İğneada Kıyıları Bentik Crustacea Faunası ve Biyoekolojik Özellikleri, Ph.D. dissertation, 2015.
S. Bilgin and N. Yılmaz, “Population dynamics of Philocheras trispinosus,” Journal of Coastal Life Medicine, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 358–363, 2016.
G. Kurt-Şahin et al., “Macrozoobenthic community structure of İğneada region,” Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 340–349, 2017.
M. Sezgin et al., “First record of Idotea ostroumovi in the Black Sea,” Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 183–186, 2017.
M. Aydın, “Length–weight relationships of five crab species,” 2018.
Y. Ceylan, “The blue crab is spreading in the southern coast of the Black Sea,” Marine Science and Technology Bulletin, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 168–172, 2020.
M. Gül et al., “First record of gravid female American blue crab,” Marine Science and Technology Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 224–227, 2021.
H. Onay and S. Bilgin, “Spatial and temporal distribution of Liocarcinus depurator,” Marine Science and Technology Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 416–425, 2021.
M. Aydın et al., “Expansion of the invasive blue crab on the Turkish coast,” Journal of Anatolian Environmental and Animal Sciences, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 127–131, 2024.
Y. Ceylan, “Occurrence data of the Atlantic blue crab,” Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, vol. 24, no. 11, 2024.
Ö. Özgen and Ş. Açık, “Crustacean species off the coast of Kıyıköy with a new record,” Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 249–260, 2024.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Environmental Engineering (Other)

Journal Section

Review

Authors

Ertan Karahanlı ^*
0000-0002-3202-271X
Türkiye

Publication Date

December 30, 2025

Submission Date

October 6, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 5, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 1970 Volume: 1 Number: 2

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA85BR92NX

APA

Karahanlı, E. (2025). A Comprehensive Review of Crustacean Fauna in the Black Sea with Emphasis on Amphipod Diversity. Positive Science International, 1(2), 114-139. https://izlik.org/JA85BR92NX

Journal of Positive Science International (PSI) by Sinop University is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

A Comprehensive Review of Crustacean Fauna in the Black Sea with Emphasis on Amphipod Diversity

Abstract

Keywords

Karadeniz'deki Kabuklu Faunasının Amfipod Çeşitliliğine Odaklanarak Kapsamlı Bir İncelemesi

Öz

Anahtar Kelimeler

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

IZ

Cite