Abstract

The present study aimed to assess the abundance, body length, maturity stage, and gut content of Parasagitta setosa in the southern Black Sea, Turkey. The study was conducted twice a month from January 2008 to December 2008. Vertical hauls with a 112 μm mesh size plankton net were used from a depth of 50 m to the surface of the Sinop coast. During the study period, the abundance of this species was generally low, varying between 10 and 980 ind.m-2. In particular, the abundance of P. setosa was low from December to July but increased from August. Small size individuals were predominated, with both 1 – 1.99 mm and 2 – 2.99 mm size classes accounting for 62% of the total P. setosa sample. Four developmental stages were determined based on ovary and seminal vesicle development. Stage I (immature) was the predominant developmental stage in the P. setosa population. A total of 1580 individuals were dissected; however, only 53 individuals had food items in their gut (3.4%), with copepods (54.73%) accounting for the predominant group the food content. It was determined that the abundance values and feeding ratios of P. setosa were low in the coastal area of Sinop and new individuals join in the population during the summer-autumn period.

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