Harpacticoida (Copepoda) of the Caspian Sea: Faunistics, ecology and biogeography

Abstract

Based on original material collected in the Caspian Sea, the harpacticoid fauna and its taxocene structure were described. The complied list of the Caspian harpacticoids includes 28 species of 16 genera and 10 families. Three species are new to science. Endemics make up 21% of the total species number, while cosmopolitans compose 36%. Four types of taxocenes in the soft littoral sediments of the Caspian Sea were described. High inter-annual variability in the structure of the harpacticoid taxocenes was observed in the Caspian littoral zone in February–March. This may be caused by strong climatic variations in the maritime area, with sporadic alternation of warm and cold winters.A comparative analysis of the faunas of the Caspian, Aral, Azov, Black and Mediterranean Seas was performed. The faunas clearly diverge into two groups: the Mediterranean and the Sarmatian, which indicates the relationships among the faunas of the fragments of the common relict Sarmatian Sea Basin. The harpacticoid fauna also differs considerably within the Sarmatian cluster. The faunas of the Azov, Caspian and Aral Seas are mainly represented by brackish-water species, while marine species dominate in the Black Sea. However, these faunas share numerous brackish species that likely formed earlier the major part of the harpacticoid fauna of the Sarmatian Basin.