FEATURES OF THE BIOLOGY OF THE POLYCHETE <i>FICOPOMATUS ENIGMATICUS</i> (FAUVEL, 1923) FROM MASS SETTLEMENTS IN THE COASTAL WATERS OF THE KERCH STRAIT (BLACK SEA)

Abstract

In September 2019, the polychaeta (Fauvel, 1923), formerly known as Fauvel, 1923, was found in mass colonial settlements in the coastal waters of the Kerch Strait near the Arshintsevskaya Spit. Some workers believe that the original natural distribution of this polychaeta was in brackish water bodies of India. This species is currently known to be widely distributed along the coasts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and of the North, Mediterranean, and Caspian Seas. Only a few isolated individuals of have been found so far along the Crimean coast of the Black Sea, in the coastal zone of Sebastopol and along the Karadag shores. The colonies described in this study do not constitute reef structures yet but have already reached high population numbers. The colony have a diameter of 46 cm and comprise 1774 individuals. The settlements of are true populations represented by individuals of different sizes ranging in length from 2 to 39 mm. The populations include both males and females: males comprise 56% and females 44% of the population. The fecundity of the worms expressed as the number of mature eggs per female depends on the body size and ranges from 5800 eggs for the body size of 12 mm to 24820 eggs for the body size of 29 mm. The present study described the morphology of using scanning electron microscopy and identified numerous sensory structures on the surface of the body, gills and the pygidium for the first time. Judging from the presence of a mass settlement of the polychaeta in the coastal waters of the Kerch Strait, it can be presumed that this species has become completely naturalized in the Black Sea. Since this species is eurybiontic, it can be assumed that it will invade the Sea of Azov and adjacent estuaries, river deltas and coastal lakes successfully, which will have an inevitable effect on the life of the local species and the ecosystems in general.