Some Biological Parameters of Patella caerulea From the Black Sea

Mehmet Aydin,Uğur Karadurmuş,Ahmet Emir Şahi̇n

doi:10.33714/masteb.906225

Mehmet Aydin, Uğur Karadurmuş + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33714/masteb.906225

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Abstract

Limpets are common inhabitants of the midlittoral and upper infralittoral zones and play an important ecological role in the coastal ecosystem. The study aimed to assess growth, meat yield, morphological aspects, condition and reproduction features of Patella caerulea. About 58% of collected Mediterranean limpets were concentrated in the 25.0-34.9 mm shell length group. The average meat yield ratio was calculated as 39.34%. Mean growth increments for shell length (SL) and total weight (TW) were 23.99% and 97.99%, respectively. Results exhibited relatively high correlation coefficients among variables. Mean condition factor value was calculated as 14.2. Spawning occurs over a short period with ovigerous females observed on two month periods. Mean fecundity was calculated as 90,983±28,675 eggs/g whereas mean egg diameter was estimated as 160.6 μm. This study presents first baseline information about biological and morphological of Mediterranean Limpets population in Black Sea.

Highlights

Marine gastropods are situated at several levels in the food chain, which increases their determining role in the functioning of marine ecosystems (Hakenkamp & Morin, 2000)
Shell length distribution of collected samples showed that 57.98% of Mediterranean limpets were in a range of 25 to 34.9 mm
It was observed that 77.40% of the samples collected were smaller than 5 g, according to the total weight (TW) (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Marine gastropods are situated at several levels in the food chain, which increases their determining role in the functioning of marine ecosystems (Hakenkamp & Morin, 2000). Limpets of the genus Patella are grazing gastropods, common inhabitants of the hard substrate communities in the mid-littoral and upper infralittoral zones of the East Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts in temperate latitudes (Vafidis et al, 2020). Limpets are considered the “keystone” species of the mid-littoral zone and are widely collected for human consumption and as fishing bait (Menge, 2000). They play an essential role in controlling algal coverage and the ecological succession and biological communities established in coastal zones (Prusina et al, 2015; Vafidis et al, 2020).

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