CONTEMPORARY STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF FISH COMMUNITIES IN THE COASTAL ZONE OF SOUTHWESTERN CRIMEA, EXAMPLE OF KAZACH’YA BAY

• Main Authors: Alexander Boltachev, Evgeniia Karpova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2018-04-01
• Series: Transactions of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Subjects: ихтиофауна; ихтиоцен; экологическая структура; чужеродный вид; крым; черное море.
• Online Access: http://journals.krc.karelia.ru/index.php/thematic/article/view/802

<span>The results of long-term ichthyological research in one of the largest bays on the southwestern coast of the Crimea, Kazach’ya Bay, are presented. The fish fauna includes 83 <span>species belonging to 59 genera in 41 families, and according to this parameter it ranks top <span>among bays of Sevastopol. The ecological and faunal composition of the fish population is <span>analyzed. Marine fishes dominate in terms of diversity, contributing about 90 % to the total<span>number of species, while the rest are relict Ponto-Caspian migratory and brackish-water <span>species. During the study period, the invasion of 8 alien East atlantic and Mediterranean <span>species and one intentional introduction of a Far East endemic (so-iuy mullet) into <span>the azov-Black Sea drainage basin were monitored. The abundance of the alien species has increased noticeably, possibly owing to a rise in water temperature. The bulk<br /><span>of the fish fauna in Kazach’ya Bay is resident fish belonging to the demersal ecological <span>group. The importance of the bay as spawning grounds and feeding grounds for fish<span>of  various ecological groups is emphasized. among the species registered in the bay, 48 <span>are objects of commercial or amateur fishing, 9 species are included in the Red Data <span>Book of the City of Sevastopol. Data on the spatial distribution, habitat preferences <span>and species diversity of the five ichthyocenes of the bay are reported. It is concluded that <span>the diversity of the fish fauna of the south-western coastal zone of the Crimean Peninsula <span>is continuing to grow due to ‘mediterranization’, but at the same time there is a decrease <span>in the abundance of native Ponto-Caspian migratory and brackish-water fish, and this<br /><span>process is typical for the Black Sea at large. It is proposed to set up nature protection <span>areas in the waters of Kazach’ya Bay.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></span></span></span></span><br /></span>