VISIBLE DECLINE OF LIMPET Patella caerulea L i n n a e u s, 1758, A BIOMONITOR SPECIES, AT THE SINOP PENINSULA AND VICINITY (THE SOUTHERN BLACK SEA, TURKEY)

Due to their economic and ecological importance, as well as sedentary life, molluscs have assumed a major role in monitoring contaminants worldwide. They are abundant, sedentary and easy to collect, which makes them ideal for biomonitoring. Limpets (Patella caerulea) are important structuring agents of intertidal assemblages, controlling distribution of algae, bulldosing small sessile animals, or consuming sessile and mobile prey. They are frequently limited in their distribution by specific microhabitats, many of which may be absent from constructed habitats. Studies on this species at the Sinop Peninsula have been evaulated and a decline of limpets was determined. Also, probable reasons for the decline of limpets were studied in this research.