Lakes and Reservoirs: Research and Management, vol.21, pp.67-81, 2016 (Scopus)
The abundance
and spatial distribution of zooplankton at monthly intervals were studied in
polluted Golden Horn Estuary (Istanbul, Turkey), from July 2006 to December
2007. Selected water quality parameters also were measured. The zooplankton community
was characterized by the presence of freshwater, estuarine and marine species,
with a total of 59 taxa. Rotifers were the most important fraction of the total
zooplankton, comprising 36.5% of all the samples. The zooplankton exhibited
seasonal patterns, with the highest abundance occurring in the summer (979 ind.
L_1) and the lowest in the spring (856 ind. L_1). Rotifera was the most
abundant group in the upper and middle estuary, whereas Copepoda usually
reaches the maximum densities in the higher salinity waters in the lower
estuary. The study results indicated that both the sampling time (seasons) and
sampling sites jointly had significant effects on the zooplankton densities (MANOVA
P < 0.05), and horizontal patterns were related to electrical conductivity,
water temperature, dissolved oxygen, suspended particulate matter, pH and
chlorophyll a measured in the estuary.