A key role of sandy beaches in the marine environment

Öz

Abstract The well-known scientist V.I. Vernadsky met forth the concept of concentration of living matter at the outer boundaries of the ocean: sea surface, sea floor and, particularly, coastline where the former two boundaries meet. But in spite of environmental importance and accessibility for investigations, contour marine biotopes, in particular, the sandy beaches (psammocontour), remain to date much less studied than the open marine areas. Results of first task-oriented integrated investigations in the Black Sea confirm the ecological exceptionality of sandy beaches for the marine ecosystem, and point out information gaps which need further research in this promising line in marine ecology. Exceptional high concentration of organisms and detritus in sandy beaches is the main reason of littoral concentration of life. Fry and juvenile of about 90 species of the Black Sea fish are feeding just in the water line area up to the depth 2-3 m, where the interstitial water enriched with microorganisms and detritus is seeping from the sandy beaches. This is a typical ecological “hot spot”, a key biotope of great scientific and practical interest.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Key words: Black Sea, sandy beach, psammocontour, interstitial organisms, ecological hot spots

Kaynakça

1. Aizatulin, T.A., Lebedev, V.L., Khailov, K.M. (1979) The Ocean. Active Surfaces and Life. Leningrad, Gidrometeoizdat, 192 pp. (in Russian).
2. Băcescu, M. (1967) Decapoda. Fauna Republicii Socialiste Romania. Crustacea, vol. IV, Fasc. 9. Bucure§ti: Editura Acad. Rep. Soc. Romania, 353 pp. (in Romanian).
3. Băcescu, M., Müller, G.I., Gomoiu, M.T. (1971) The quantitative, qualitative and comparative analysis of Black Sea benthic fauna. Ecologie marinä (Marine Ecology) 4: 357 pp. (in Romanian)
4. Boaden, P.J.S., Seed, R. (1985) An Introduction to Coastal Ecology. Glasgow, Blackie and Son Ltd., 218 pp.
5. Breder, M. Jr., Rosen, D.E. (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. New York, Natural History Press, 941 pp.
6. Dumitrache, C., Zaitsev, I.P. (1999) Ophelia bicornis. Black Sea Red Data Book (H.J. Dumont, Ed.), The United Nations Office for Project Services, p. 295-296.
7. Garkusha, O.P. (2009) The influence of interstitial water on the growth of microalgae from sandy beaches of Odessa coast. Marine Ecological Journal 78: 34-39 pp. (in Russian).
8. Garlitskaya, L.A. (2010) Ecology of Haracticoida of the north-western part of the Black Sea. Cand.Sc. thesis. Sebastopol, Inst. Biol. South. Seas. (in Russian).

9. Gomoiu, M.T., (1976) Ecological studies regarding psammobiontic molluscs from the Black Sea Romanian littoral. Ecologie marina (Marine Ecology), 5: 173-339. (In Romanian).
10. Gomoiu, M., Petranu, A. (1999) Donacilla cornea. Black Sea Red Data Book (H.J. Dumont, Ed.), The United Nations Office for Project Services. 195-196 pp.
11. Gosner, K.L. (1987) A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co. 329 pp.
12. Green, J. (1968) The Biology of Estuarine Animals. London, Sidgwick and Jackson. 401 pp.
13. Lebedev, V., Aizatulin, T., Khailov, K. (1989) The Living Ocean. Moscow, Progress Publishers, 327 pp.
14. Leschen, A.S., Grady, S.P., Valiela, I. (2006) Fecundity and spawning of the Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, in Pleasant Bay, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Marine Ecology 27: 54-65.
15. Mokyevsky, O.V. (1949) Fauna of Western Crimea littoral soft bottoms. Trudy Inst. Okeanologyi AN SSSR. 124-159 pp. (in Russian).
16. Odum, E.P. (1971) Fundamentals of Ecology. Philadelphia, London, Toronto, 574 pp.
17. Perkins, E.J. (1974) The Biology of Estuaries and Coastal Waters. London.New York, Academic Press. 678 pp.
18. Serbinova, I.V., Kopytina, N.I. (2011) 3rd Bi-annual BS Scientific Conference and UP-GRADE BS-SCENE Project Joint Conference. Odessa, 1-4 November 2011. 220-221pp.
19. Snyder, F.R., Snyder, H. (2006) Raptors of North America: Natural History and Conservation, Voyageur Press. p.40.
20. Telitchenko, M.M., Ostroumov, S.A. (1990) Introduction to the problems of biochemical ecology: biotechnology, agriculture, environment. Moscow, Nauka, 288 pp. (in Russian).
21. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales and Dolphins. (1983) Knopf, New York, 858 pp.
22. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures. (1987) Knopf, New York, 813 pp.
23. Vernadsky, V.I. (1968) The Biosphere. Moscow, Mysl, 374 pp. (in Russian)
24. Vernadsky, V.I. (1987) Chemical structure of the Earth biosphere and its surroundings. Moscow: “Nauka”, 340 pp. (in Russian).
25. Vorobyova, L.V., Kulakova, I.I. (2009) Contemporary state of the meiobenthos in the western Black Sea. Odessa, “Astroprint”, 126 pp.
26. Vorobyova, L.V., Zaitsev, Yu.P. Kulakova, I.I. (1992) Interstitial meiofauna of the Black Sea sandy beaches. Kiev, Naukova Dumka, 144 pp (in Russian).
27. Zaitsev, Yu.P. (1986) Contourobionts in Ocean Monitoring. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 7: 31-38.
28. Zaitsev, Yu.P. (1971) Marine Neustonology. Translated from Russian. Published for the National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic ans Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the National Science Foundation. Springfield, 207 pp.
29. Zaitsev, Yu.P. (2006) Littoral concentration of life in the Black Sea area and coastal management requirements. J. of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment 12 (2): 113-128.
30. Zaitsev, Yu.P. (2008a) Microorganisms community of marine sandy beaches pore waters. Data and hypotheses. Microbiology and Biotechnology 2: 8-19 (in Russian).
31. Zaitsev, Yu. P (2008b) An Introduction to the Black Sea Ecology. Odessa, Smil Editing and Publishing Agency Ltd. 227 pp.
32. Zaitsev, Yu.P. (2008c) Black Sea coasts of Ukraine. Kiev, Academperiodica, 241 pp (in Ukrainian).
33. Zaitsev, Yu.P., Kopytina N., Garkusha O., Serbinova I. (2010) Preliminary observations on the Samsun Bay splash zone biodiversity. J. Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment 16(3): 245-252 pp.
34. Zakutsky, V.P., Vinogradov, K.A. (1967) Macrozoobenthos. Biology of the North-Western part of the Black Sea. Kiev, Nauk. Dumka: 146-157 (in Russian).