Biodiversity analysis of marine demersal invertebrate fauna in the princess islands region

Abstract

A study for the inventory of the diversity of invertebrate species habited in the Princess Islands region, istanbul was conducted to cover the gap between alike studies conducted all over the top biodiversity centres. The mentioned area was one of the most diverse areas in temperate waters. The biodiversity due to over population has been decreased in the area, and this study was made in comparison with the past study. Princess Islands region and Bosphorus Strait was studied in detail in 1952 by Muzaffer Demir, which was the starting point for this comparative study in the area after half a century. Between Muzaffer Demir and this study, the studies conducted over invertebrate fauna in the Sea of Marmara are insufficient. The main concepts as the definitions, value and conservation of biodiversity are also given followed by the key notions of the current trends in conservation biology. Descriptions of the new species and keystone species with their pictures are also added. There are two groups of islands: Inhabited and desolate (see Map3.1 and Map 3.2). The inhabited islands are 6km far from the shore and domestic wastes are discharged directly to the sea. The desolate islands are 12km far from the shore and comparably have greater biodiversity than the inhabited islands coasts which are being polluted both by istanbul wastes because they are nearer and domestically. Several dives were done in various sites to observe the species in their habitats. Comparative which-and-where tables of the demersal invertebrate phyla are added with a scale of abundance that will help future studies. 9 new species were recorded that were not recorded before, and many probable extinctions were noted.