Spatiotemporal Distribution and Habitat Preferences of Ostracods in the Coastal Karagol Lagoon, Enez, Edirne, Turkey

Abstract

Karagol Lagoon is a shallow coastal wetland in the Province of Edirne, Turkey. It is far from settlements as well as not affected by fishing or other human activities and, therefore, its biota can be considered as a source of reference data for a coastal wetland in favourable conditions. Benthic ostracod communities were studied throughout the annual cycle (every second month) at three stations in the wetland. Two euryhaline and eurythermal ostracod species were recorded: Cyprideis torosa and Loxoconcha elliptica. They were present at all three stations and in all seasonal samples, showing substantial spatial and temporal variations. Cyprideis torosa was the dominant species, while L. elliptica was a secondary species. The abundance of C. torosa and L. elliptica was positively correlated with the air temperature, water temperature and salinity but negatively correlated with the oxygen saturation. The abundance of C. torosa was also positively correlated with the pH of the water.