Bottom Biocenoses of Taman Bay (Sea of Azov)

Abstract

In this research, the species composition and structure of macrophytobenthos, macrozoobenthos, and bottom sediments of the Taman Bay, one of the areas of the Sea of Azov where the seagrass Zostera marina L. forms underwater meadows. The material was collected in 2008–2009 before of the Sea of Azov salinization. Three main zones with different types of bottom sediments (sands, sands with shells and silts) were identified, within which four main macrobenthic biocenoses were located (unvegetated coastal biocenosis, mosaic macrophyte communities outside the surf zone, Z. marina underwater meadows and the central regions’ biocenosis with the dominance of mobile forms of macrozoobenthos and a low abundance of macrophytes). The main environmental factor associated with this distribution of macrophytobenthos was the content of silt (with a granule size of less than 0.001 mm). The spatial structure of the macrozoobenthos correlated with the projective cover of Z. marina. Possible reasons for the revealed regularities in the distribution of communities are discussed.