Fauna and types of soft-bottom macrozoobenthic assemblages in watercourses of mountainous regions on the eastern Black Sea coast

Abstract

The species composition and communities of soft-bottom macrozoobenthos of the eastern Black Sea coast have been described based on an original collection of 132 quantitative and over 700 qualitative samples. More than 150 species and supraspecific taxa have been registered; 10 types of communities, each having a specific complex of dominants, have been singled out. Regional features of the pelophilic communities in mountainous regions on the eastern Black Sea coast and their altitude and temperature-dependent variability, as well as analogy with other Palaearctic regions, have been discussed.