Investigation of harmful algae in İzmir Bay for the 30 years

Abstract

Marine pollution, which has been seen for the recent years in cities with a coast that industrializes day by day, was also seen in İzmir, the third most populous city of Turkey. After the destruction of Ragıp Paşa jetty and especially the completion of the Grand Canal Project, the improvement in the gulf is increasing day by day. In İzmir Bay, which is one of the most fertile areas of the Aegean Sea, excessive algae growth is occasionally observed. In this study, 360 quantitative and 1080 qualitative samples were obtained during the monitoring projects carried out jointly by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, Dokuz Eylül University Marine Sciences and Technology Institute and Ege University Faculty of Fisheries between 1990-2016 were examined. The distribution of the 2 dominant major classes Dinophyceae and Bacillariophyceae were investigated. In addition to the species that produce toxins such as DSP, ASP and PSP into the marine environment, species that do not contain any toxins but cause adverse conditions in the environment by mass-formation were investigated.