A Preliminary Study on the Population Characteristics of the Lessepsian Species Pseudonereis anomala (Polychaeta: Nereididae) in İskenderun Bay (Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean)

Authors: MELİH ERTAN ÇINAR, CEM ALTUN

Abstract: The present paper deals with the population structure and biology of Pseudonereis anomala collected from different shallow-water habitats of İskenderun Bay in September 2005. In all, 434 specimens of P. anomala were found in the area. The maximum density and biomass values of the species in the area were 2475 ind. m^{-2} (on Jania rubens) and 7.85 g m^{-2} (among the bivalve Brachidontes pharaonis), respectively. The relationships among the biometrical measurements of the P. anomala specimens were assessed using regression and correlation analyses. The growth of P. anomala seems to be allometric. Among the specimens examined, only one specimen had immature oocytes. Only plant remnants were found in the digestive tracts of the dissected specimens.

Keywords: Pseudonereis anomala, Nereididae, Polychaeta, Lessepsian, population structure, Levantine Sea, Turkey

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