Research Information System
Aquatic Research, vol.8, no.4, pp.272-285, 2025 (TRDizin)
In this study, temporal variations in rotifer abundance, biomass, and size structure were determined and compared across samples collected between 2014 and 2016 from two shallow lagoons in dif- ferent climate zones. Paradeniz Lagoon is a high-salinity ecosystem (around 31‰), located in the Mediterranean Sea Region, on the south coast of Turkey, and formed within the delta of the Göksu River. Uzungöl Lagoon is a low-salinity ecosystem (≤ 1‰) located in the Kızılırmak Delta, in the north of Turkey. Key environmental parameters, particularly temperature, salinity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a, were determined in interactions with rotifer assemblages. Rotifera were the dominant group in the zooplankton of slightly saline Uzungöl Lagoon; mainly, Keratella cochlearis, K. quadrata, Polyarthra vulgaris, Filinia longiseta, Notholca acuminata, and Brachionus calyciflorus accounted for more than 70% of the rotifer community. In the saline Paradeniz Lagoon, rotifers Synchaeta pectinata and Hexarthra fennica were constant species. However, their population density was very low, whilst copepods made up more than 90% of the total zooplankton. Moreover, an increase in nauplius lengths correlated with maximum salinity in both lagoons. Results of this research indicated that climate-dependent salinisation of shallow la- goons is an important factor in ecological explanations of zooplankton biodiversity, density, and biomass.