Fish diversity and community structure of a wetland system of the western Mediterranean Basin of Türkiye: Lake Koca (Dalaman)

Nehir Kaymak; Yılmaz Emre; Nesrin Emre; Şenol Akın

doi:10.12714/egejfas.40.4.01

EN TR

Fish diversity and community structure of a wetland system of the western Mediterranean Basin of Türkiye: Lake Koca (Dalaman)

Abstract

Lake Koca (Dalaman), a wetland in the western Mediterranean basin of Türkiye, is an extraordinary lake with salty, fresh, and sulfurous waters and is home to high biodiversity. The present study examines the spatial and seasonal variation in fish communities and assesses the influence of environmental parameters on the community structure of Lake Koca. A total of 1.530 specimens were captured, representing seven families and 11 species (2 non-native, 1 introduced, and 8 native species). Total fish abundance and richness were higher at the littoral than at the limnetic zone, but no seasonal variation was observed. Non-native fish species, Coptodon zillii, was the most abundant in the littoral zone, followed by species of Mugilidae. The abundance of the two endemic fish species (Capoeta aydinensis and Ladigesocypris irideus) was relatively low in both habitats. Shannon-Wiener diversity index and evenness did not vary seasonally and spatially. Fish abundance and richness were significantly and positively correlated with chlorophyll-a and macrophyte coverage while negatively correlated with depth. Spearmen’s Correlation analysis revealed that native fish species show a relationship with the chemical parameters of the water, while C. zillii showed a distribution related to depth and macrophyte density. Both anthropogenic activities and the presence of non-native fish may affect the distribution and abundance of endemic fishes.

Keywords

Türkiye'nin Batı Akdeniz Havzası'ndaki bir sulak alan sisteminin balık çeşitliliği ve topluluk yapısı: Koca Göl (Dalaman)

Öz

Türkiye’nin Batı Akdeniz havzasında bir sulak alan olan Koca Göl, tuzlu, tatlı ve kükürtlü suları ile sıradışı bir sistem olup, yüksek biyolojik çeşitliliğe ev sahipliği yapmaktadır. Bu çalışma, balık topluluklarındaki mekansal ve mevsimsel değişimi incelemekte ve çevresel parametrelerin Koca Gölü'nün balık toplulukları üzerindeki etkisini değerlendirmektedir. Çalışmada yedi familya ve 11 türü (2 yabancı, 1 taşınmış ve 8 yerli tür) temsil eden toplam 1.530 örnek yakalanmıştır. Toplam balık bolluğu ve zenginliği littoral bölgede limnetik bölgeye göre daha yüksek bulunmuş, ancak mevsimsel bir değişiklik göstermemiştir. Yabancı balık türlerinden, Coptodon zillii, littoral bölgede en bol bulunan türdür ve bunu Mugilidae’ye ait türler izlemiştir. İki endemik balık türünün (Capoeta aydinensis ve Ladigesocypris irideus) bolluğu her iki habitatta da nispeten düşük bulunmuştur. Shannon-Wiener çeşitlilik indeksi ve düzgünlüğü mevsimsel ve mekansal farklılık göstermemiştir. Balık bolluğu ve zenginliği, klorofil-a ve makrofit kapatıcılığı ile anlamlı ve pozitif bir şekilde ilişkiliyken, derinlik ile negatif bir şekilde ilişkilidir. Spearmen Korelasyon analizi, yerli balık türlerinin suyun kimyasal parametreleri ile ilişki olduğunu, C. zillii'nin ise derinlik ve makrofit yoğunluğuna bağlı bir dağılım gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Bu sulak alanda hem antropojenik faaliyetler hem de yabancı balıkların varlığı, endemik balıkların dağılımını ve bolluğunu etkilemiş olabilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Supporting Institution

Akdeniz University Research Fund (Project Number: FBA-2018-4171)

Project Number

FBA-2018-4171

Ethical Statement

Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (Date: 19.07.2018 / Approval Number: 93773921).

Thanks

This study was supported by the Akdeniz University Research Fund (Project Number: FBA-2018-4171). We would like to thank Cihan Toslak for his actual contribution (fish sampling in the field) during the field study of this project. We also thank F. Banu Yalım for her help during the field study of this project.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Freshwater Ecology , Ecology (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Nehir Kaymak ^*
0000-0002-9970-4467
Türkiye

Yılmaz Emre
0000-0003-4793-2262
Türkiye

Nesrin Emre
0000-0001-9047-1823
Türkiye

Şenol Akın
0000-0002-3851-4360
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

December 8, 2023

Publication Date

December 15, 2023

Submission Date

July 4, 2023

Acceptance Date

September 23, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 1970 Volume: 40 Number: 4

DOI

https://doi.org/10.12714/egejfas.40.4.01

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA97BP38ET

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Kaymak, N., Emre, Y., Emre, N., & Akın, Ş. (2023). Fish diversity and community structure of a wetland system of the western Mediterranean Basin of Türkiye: Lake Koca (Dalaman). Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 40(4), 235-243. https://doi.org/10.12714/egejfas.40.4.01

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