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Cornigerius species are endemic to the Ponto-Caspian, with the exception of Cornigerius lacustris, which is endemic to freshwater Lake Hazar in the Euphrates basin. However, the barcoding fragment of the cytochrome c subunit I (COI) of animals from the type locality shows less than 1 % divergence with Black Sea and less than 2% with Caspian Lake C. maeoticus, the oldest and most widespread species of the genus. Black Sea and Caspian Lake animals show 1.5 % divergence. We therefore place the origin of the Hazar population in the Black Sea. Combined with a variable morphology, we also conclude that C. lacustris is a synonym of C. maeoticus, as already suspected by its describer. Dating the ‘lacustris’ population is difficult, but it has been there for at least a century.

Lagoons are valuable ecosystems providing various services, such as fishing, recreational activities, and land reclamation, as well as hosting high biodiversity. Although lagoons in Turkey cover a coastal area of more than 36,000 ha, few studies of them have been conducted. Therefore, two lagoons (Dalyan and Arapciftligi) located on the coast of the Sea of Marmara in the Kocacay Delta, which is under intense anthropogenic pressure, were investigated between November 2013 and March 2015 to examine the effects of environmental factors on taxonomic diversity. In addition, ongoing high nutrient flow from the Karacabey region triggers eutrophication in the lagoons, thus causing low water transparency. In both lagoons, the zooplankton assemblages were mainly dominated by cosmopolite and eurytopic taxa. Calanoid copepod Acartia clausi was the dominant species in both lagoons and showed seasonal variation, while no seasonality appeared in nauplii. The high abundance of rotifer species of the genera Keratella and Brachionus reflects the harsh conditions in the lagoons, caused by cultural eutrophication, dystrophy, and salinity increase and also by the temperature-enhanced decrease in zooplankton evenness and richness. Flushing rate, precipitation, high temperature, and salinity influence the species composition, which shifted to a greater dominance by hypoxia/salinity-tolerant zooplankters, resulting in lower species diversity in the lagoons.

Kizilirmak River has been used as Ankara’s drinking water source for approximately 1.5 years. Therefore, this region’s water, sediment, and fish samples are measured for detecting the heavy metals. This is important for the current situation as well as the future in terms of potential impact. The amount of heavy metals in drinking water should be within the limited values; otherwise, the accumulation of heavy metals will cause many problems to living organisms. Especially high levels of arsenic, cadmium, nickel, mercury, etc. are very dangerous to freshwater ecosystems as for human if the water is being use as drinking water. In this study, water, sediment samples, muscle, and gills of three fish species (Capoeta tinca, Capoeta capoeta, Leuciscus cephalus) were analyzed for the presence of heavy metals such as (Al, Fe, As, Cd, Ni, Mn, Se, Si) to determine present accumulation levels and possible toxic effect. The accumulation pattern of heavy metals in the water, sediment, and fish tissue follows the sequence: Si > Fe > Al > Mn > As > Ni > Se > Cd, Fe > Al > Mn > Ni > As > Se > Cd, and Fe > Al > Mn > As > Ni > Si > Cd. In addition, the detected concentrations of heavy metals in the Kizilirmak and Delice Rivers are compared with other heavy metal studies in the other main rivers and lakes in Turkey.

In this study totally 25 rotifer species, 3 cladocerus species, and 2 copepoda species were identified in Ova Stream. Among zooplankton rotifer species were dominant. Population densities of planktonic organisms were calculated as individual per cubic meter and the relationship of the planktonic organisms with physicochemical parameters was determined applying canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Also diversity index has been calculated according to the sampling stations. According to the results, the diversity index changes between stations and sampling time. The CCA results show that the rotifer species Keratella, Notholca showed negative correlation with the increasing chemical parameters and temperature but Brachionus, Mytilina, Colurella, and Testudinella have positive correlation with increasing temperature. Zur Bestimmung des Verhaltnisses zwischen dem Zooplankton und abiotischen Faktoren mittels kanonischer Korrespondenzanalyse (CCA) im Ova River (Ankara, Turkei) Im Ova River, einem Nebenfluss des Ankara im Flussgebiet des Sakarya, wurden an 4 Stationen insgesamt 25 Rotatorien-, 3 Cladoceren- und 2 Copepoden-Species identifiziert. In quantitativ ausgewerteten Netzfangen (44 μm Maschenweite) erwiesen sich die Rotatorien als stets dominant in der Individuenzahl. Die Diversitat des Zooplanktons variierte saisonal und zwischen den Stationen. Die Zusammenhange zwischen physikalisch-chemischen Faktoren der Wasserbeschaffenheit und dem Zooplankton werden mittels CCA (kanonischer Korrespondenzanalyse) dargestellt. Unter den Rotatorien zeigen Keratella und Notholca negative Korrelation zur Wassertemperatur und einzelnen chemischen Faktoren, Brachionus, Mytilina, Colurella und Testudinella sind positiv mit der Wassertemperatur korreliert.

The trophic status of Lake Mogan a shallow, alluvial lake in Central Anatolia, was assessed during a nine-month survey in 1994, including community structure and seasonal distribution of planktonic organisms. Bacillariophyta were dominant among the phytoplankton, followed by Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta, Cryptophyta, Euglenophyta and Dinophyta. Among the zooplankton, Arctodiaptomus bacillifer, Diaphanosoma lacustris and Keratella quadrata were the dominant species. Rotifers were most abundant in spring, Cladocera in summer and copepods in autumn. A rapid increase in zooplankton density correlated with a rise in temperature of 8°C and an increase in the chlorophyll concentration during summer. A total of 21 species of Rotifera, 6 species of Cladocera and 2 species of Copepoda have been identified, in addition to 90 species (from 8 genera) of phytoplanktonic organisms.

The seasonal occurrence of medicinal leeches was studied at two lakes in the Black Sea coastland of north-western Turkey. The number of leeches attracted by a collector per hour was taken as an indicator for population density. Leeches were most abundant in May/June, and were almost absent during the cold season (November – March). Leeches with a weight of less than 1 g occurred principally between July and October with a peak in July. It is thought that these individuals represent newly hatched leeches. Although both study areas are close to each other, significant differences were found in respect to mean leech size and the seasonal frequency of leeches (both total number and certain age classes). It is suggested that leech biology is greatly dependent on factors such as microclimate and the availability of hosts, and no general conclusions on phenology can be drawn. There is therefore no scientific basis for restricting commercial leech collecting to certain months of the year.

The Rotifera fauna of ten different lakes in Central Anatolia was studied between April 1998 and October 1999 at monthly intervals. A total of 46 species in 20 genera was recorded, of which Brachionus bidentata, B. leydigii, B. variabilis, Cephalodella plicata, C. gracilis, Elosa worallii, Erignatha sagittoides and Lecane rhenana are new to the Turkish fauna.

A survey of all the major potential habitats in western Turkey showed that medicinal leeches, Hirudo medicinalis L., are widely distributed over the country and are not rare. They occur in practically all suitable habitats and the only region where they were found to be absent is that of the large river deltas in the south of the country (Cukurova deltas, Goksu delta). There may be zoogeographic reasons for this (Taurus mountains barrier). The application of a semi-quantitative survey method using collecting efficiency (number of leeches collected per hour by a single person) allowed a rapid assessment to be made of its status in a large number of wetlands. Leech density varied considerably from wetland to wetland, and the results enabled a ranking of the Turkish wetlands to be made according to their importance for medicinal leeches. Taking both the leech density and the size of leech habitats into account, the largest populations were identified on the Black Sea coast (Kizilirmak delta, Yesilirmak delta and Karagol Marshes near Sinop) and in inner and south-west Anatolia (Eber Golu, Karamik and Sultan Marshes). Commercial exploitation for the pharmaceutical industry and for other purposes takes place at only a few places and does not appear to affect the population seriously. However, many populations are threatened by the draining of their habitats.

The accumulation of heavy metals such as Pb, Hg, Co, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Br were determined in water, sediment, muscle, and gill of three fish species (Leuciscus cephalus, Capoeta tinca, Capoeta capoeta) which were collected in KA +/- zA +/- lA +/- rmak River Basin (Delice River). The metal concentration showed a general trend of Br > Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu > Hg > Co in water and Cr > Zn > Pb > Cu > Co > Hg > Br in sediment samples while Zn > Cu > Pb > Br > Cr > Hg > Co were in muscle and Zn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Br > Hg > Co were in the gill tissue.

Publisher Summary Geologically, Turkey is a part of the Alpine belt that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Himalayan Mountains. This belt started to form in the early Tertiary when the Arabian, African, and Indian plates collided with the Eurasian plate. Since the late Tertiary, Turkey has been moving toward the Eurasian plate whose resistance splits Turkey along a northwest direction, forming east west extending horst-graben structures in the west. The geomorphologic evolution of Turkey includes pre- and post-Miocene phases that constrained the paleo- and neotectonic phases. The Central Anatolian Plateau owes its present morphology mainly to erosional processes before the Miocene, whereas the rest of the country continues to evolve by ongoing uplift processes. The evolution of river basins and development of major river valleys are a result of these geological processes. Turkey, because of its complex geologic, geomorphic, and climatic settings, has many rivers that enter the surrounding seas and neighboring countries of Iraq, Iran, and Armenia. Overall, 26 main drainage basins, including 4 endorheic basins lacking an outflow to the sea, occur in Turkey. This chapter focuses on 16 catchments, although the Terek and Kura Rivers are covered only marginally because of limited available information. It also briefly describes the endorheic basins and presents the general characterization of the Turkish river basins.

The Uluabat Lake is a reservoir of 125 km2 surface area, in the boundaries of Bursa province, Turkey. The results showed that Uluabat Lake was still contaminated by organochlorine pesticides and their residues despite the existence of bans over a long time. Considerable amounts of organochlorine pesticides (HCB, p.p′-DDT, p.p′-DDE, α-, β- and γ-BHC, Aldrin, Heptachlor epoxide, Endrin, Endosulfan I and II) were detected in water and sediment samples during one-year study in this lake. Samples of water and sediment were collected in different regions, (6 sampling point) of the lake between February 2002 and November 2002.The mean levels of organochlorine pesticides in water and sediments were determined. According to results, it was found that various environs in Uluabat Lake were contaminated by 11 different organochlorine pesticides. Residue analyses showed that higher organochlorine pesticides and their residues were generally more accumulated in the sediment samples. © Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006.

(2007). Records of species of Lecane Nitzsch, 1827 new for the Turkish rotifer fauna (Ploima, Lecanidae) Zoology in the Middle East: Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 119-120.

In this study Cyanobacteria species of Mogan Lake, Beytepe Pond and Delice River were taxonomically investigated. The cyanobacteria specimens have been collected by monthly intervals from Mogan Lake and Beytepe Pond between October 2010 and September 2011. For the Delice River the laboratory samples which were collected by montly intervals between July 2007-May 2008 have been evaluated.Totally 15 genus and 41 taxa were identified, 22 species from Mogan lake, 19 species from Beytepe pond and 13 species from Delice river respectively. During the study species like Planktolyngbya limnetica and Aphanocapsa incerta were frequently observed for all months in Mogan Lake, Chrococcus turgidus and Chrococcus minimus were abundant in Beytepe Pond while Kamptonema formosum was dominant in Delice River. As a result species diversity and density were generally rich in Mogan Lake during fall and summer season while very low in the Delice River during winter season