Abundance and Distribution of the Hyponeustonic Copepods Anomalocera patersonii and Pontella mediterranea in the South-western Part of the Black Sea

Abstract

The paper presents the analysis of hyponeustonic species present in the south-western part of the Black Sea, in October 2019, within the ANEMONE Project. From the qualitative and quantitative point of view, two species were identified: Anomalocera patersonii Templeton, 1837 (WoRMS) and Pontella mediterranea Claus, 1863 (WoRMS). The analyzed samples showed significant densities of these species, being found in different development stages, from nauplii to copepodites but also as adults and having a representative distribution on the entire analyzed surface. A. patersonii was abundant in the northern part of the Romanian marine area, the southern marine area of Bulgaria and in Turkey central area, while P. mediterranea recorded a higher abundance in the Romanian Black Sea area.