Spatial patterns of zooplankton communities along the Sinop-Samsun transect

This study examined the zooplankton composition, abundance, and biomass distribution, as well as their relationship with environmental variables at 17 stations between Sinop (T & uuml;rkeli) and Samsun (Yakakent) in the Turkish Black Sea in June 2023. The mean zooplankton abundance and biomass were 705.85 +/- 556.02 individuals (ind.)/m3 and 39.53 +/- 37.33 mg/m3, respectively. The copepods were the most dominant taxa in terms of abundance and biomass, followed by Noctiluca scintillans. Coastal shallow stations were mainly characterised by higher abundances of Paracalanus parvus and Acartia clausi, whereas offshore deeper stations were associated with Pseudocalanus elongatus, Oithona similis and Parasagitta setosa. Zooplankton abundance and biomass exhibited marked spatial variability along the transect. The abundances of Pleopis polyphemoides and meroplankton groups were affected by temperature and salinity changes. These findings indicate that the zooplankton community structure exhibits spatial variation and is sensitive to environmental variables.