Taxonomy, distribution, and ecology of crustacean zooplankton in trough waters of Ankara (Turkey)

Abstract

Troughs are one of the main components of villages in Turkey. They are constructed by converting springs or underground waters. Until now, there has been no extensive study investigating the composition and diversity of trough zooplankton species. In order to contribute knowledge on the zooplanktons in troughs, 142 troughs were randomly sampled from 17 districts in Ankara Province between 22 June and 3 July 2011. A total of 18 zooplanktons including 11 Copepoda and 7 Cladocera species were determined. Twelve of the 18 (Paracyclops chiltoni, Paracylops fimbriatus, Paracyclops imminutus, Tropocyclops prasinus, Diacyclops bisetosus, Acanthocyclops vernalis, Canthocamptus staphylinus, Attheyella crassa, Bryocamptus minutus, Macrothrix hirsuticornis, Oxyurella tenuicaudis, Moina macrocopa) are new records for Ankara. Paracyclops imminutus was reported for the third time in Turkey in the last 50 years. UPGMA illustrated 4 main clustering groups of species corresponding to some of their ecological characteristics. Poisson distribution analysis showed almost random distribution of species among the troughs (s^{2}/µ = 1.04). With their cosmopolitan characteristics, 3 species (M. hirsuticornis, E. serrulatus, and C. sphaericus) are the most common species. Their ecological tolerance and optimum values were higher than the mean tolerances for different environmental variables. The results show that troughs may provide suitable conditions for zooplankton species.