Article Details
THE INFLUENCES OF OCEANOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTH COASTS OF KARABURUN PENINSULA ON THE BENTHIC FORAMINIFERAL AND OSTRACOD ASSEMBLAGES
Indexed In
Volume 145 / 2012Authors:
Engin MERİÇ, Niyazi AVŞAR, Atike NAZİK, Baki YOKEŞ, Özcan DORA, İpek F. BARUT, Mustafa ERYILMAZ, Feyza DİNÇER, Erol KAM, Abdullah AKSU, Halim TAŞKIN, Asiye BAŞSARI, Cüneyt BİRCAN, Aysun KAYGUNKeywords:
Benthic foraminifers, Karaburun Peninsula, ostracods, Peneroplis planatus tests geochemistry, sea water chemistry.Abstract:
Major differences in foraminiferal assemblages have been observed between the eastern and western coasts on the northern part of the Karaburun Peninsula. In contrast to the rich fauna of the western coast, a poor assemblage was found on the western coast, which is located in the Gulf of İzmir. A great difference in population sizes have also been observed in Amphistegina lobifera Larsen assemblages found on the Aegean coasts of Karaburun Peninsula and Gulf of Izmir. In the frame work of this study, 84 foraminifer species were identifi ed. The most abundant species were Peneroplis pertusus (Forskal), P. planatus (Fichtel and Moll), Amphistegina lobifera Larsen, Elphidium crispum (Linné). Highest heavy metal pollution was observed in the inner part of the gulf, where least number of foraminifera species observed. 24 ostracod species were identifi ed. Our fi ndings showed that the number of genera and species of ostracods increases with the increasing depth and the distance to the shoreline on the NW of Karaburun Peninsula. Loxoconcha rhomboidea (Fischer), Xestoleberis communis Müller and X. depressa Sars were found to be dominant species on the NW of the peninsula, whereas on the NE of the peninsula Xesteleberis dispar Müller dominated the fauna, Xestoleberis communis Müller and X. depressa Sars were the other abundant species. The aim of this study is to investigate the foraminiferal assemblages of the north coasts of Karaburun Peninsula and fi gure out the effects of mercury mine and other elements on these assemblages. Two mercury mines are found on the north of the peninsula, “Karareis” located on the northwestern of Tuzla Cove and “Kalecik” on the southwestern of Karaburun. Both mines have been economically operated since ancient times until 1970s. However, mercury mineral has not been observed in the muck found in the vicinity. The piles of muck may be washed with rains, resulting in the draining of the acidic solutions with Hg, As and Fe to the nearby seasonal stream, which are then possibly carried to the sea. The sea water samples collected from the two locations showed differences in their heavy metalsand trace element contents, such as Al, Si, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and As, but no signifi cant difference was observed in Hg. The aim of this study is to fi gure out the effects of the heavy metals, which were carried from the land, on the benthic foraminiferal assemblages.
