Population dynamics and morphological variability of Calanus euxinus in the Black and Marmara Seas

Abstract

Temporal and spatial changes in abundance, prosome length, oil sac volume, molting patterns and morphometric parameters were studied in Calanus euxinus from the Black and Marmara Seas. In the south‐western part of the Black Sea and deep shelf zone near Sinop the abundance of C. euxinus was high during the whole studied period (2000–2005), with a maximum 23,400 ind m−2 in March 2004. In the Marmara Sea near the Prince Islands in the deep zone the mean annual abundance of C. euxinus was 47 times lower than in the deep zone of the Black Sea (during 2000–2007). However, this parameter reached a significant magnitude of 12,264 ind m−2 in spring in Izmit Bay. During the warm season, C. euxinus are rare in the Marmara Sea. The high temperature and salinity accelerate development in this species; therefore, preadults and adults possess reduced prosome length and oil sac volume. In the cold period in the Marmara Sea the size and lipid content in late copepodite stages increase, especially in Izmit Bay. Similar size of eggs, prosome length of early copepodite stages in the Black and Marmara Seas indicate that the C. euxinus population in the Marmara Sea originates from the individuals penetrating from the Black Sea through the Bosphorus.