Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
MICROPALEONTOLOGY, cilt.54, ss.307-349, 2008 (SCI-Expanded)
Many vertebrate and invertebrate species of Indo-Pacific origin are observed in the Eastern Mediterranean. These alien species were likely transported via ballast waters or by attaching themselves onto vessels. In addition to that, many species were carried into the Mediterranean for aquaculture purposes or inadvertantly introduced from public aquariums. More importantly, man-made canals, especially the Suez Canal, serve as conduits to transportation of species between ecosystems. Many foraminifer species native to the Indo-Pacific were introduced into the Eastern Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. Some of these genera coexist with other benthic foraminifers in the Bay of Haifa, the Gulf of Iskenderun, southwestern Antalya, eastern Aegean Sea and northeast of Crete. We identified 26 genera and 32 species of Recent Foraminifera common to the Indo-Pacific and some to the Atlantic Ocean in our samples collected from various depths in the Aegean and Southwestern Mediterranean coasts of Turkey and the Gulf Of Iskenderun. The absence of species native to Atlantic waters in the western Mediterranean suggests that their presence in the eastern Mediterranean must be of Indo-Pacific origin rather than Atlantic.