Benthic Biocenoses of Taman Bay (Sea of Azov)

Abstract

The species composition and the structure of the macrophytobenthos, macrozoobenthos, and bottom sediments of Taman Bay are studied. This inlet is inhabited by seagrass Zostera marina L. which forms vast underwater meadows here. Samples were collected in 2008–2009, before the ongoing rise of salinity in the Sea of Azov. Three main biotopes with different bottom sediment composition (sands, sands with shells, and silts) were identified. They were inhabited by four main macrobenthic biocenoses (unvegetated near-shore biocenosis, mosaic macrophyte vegetation outside the surf zone, pure eelgrass’s meadows belt, and the communities, dominated by the mobile macrozoobenthos species with low abundance of macrophytes occupying the central part of the bay). The main environmental factor associated with this distribution of the vegetation was the silt content (grain size <0.001 mm). The spatial structure of the macrozoobenthos correlated with the projective cover of Z. marina. Possible reasons for the revealed pattern in the distribution of communities are discussed.