On the Relationship of Ostracod Species (Crustacea) to Shallow Water Ion and Sediment Phosphate Concentration Across Different Elevational Range (Sinop, Turkey)

In order to investigate the relationship of freshwater ostracods with some of those physico-chemicals and sediment phosphate concentrations, 97 shallow aquatic bodies were sampled during July 2014 in the Sinop province (Turkey). A total of 3083 individuals belonging to 28 ostracod taxa are reported from 76 of 97 sites. While 24 of these taxa were firstly reported from the province, Bradleytriebella tuberculata is a newly reported species for Turkish Ostracoda fauna. Species diversity (H'=1.87) increased around the middle elevations (601-750 m) whereas it was decreased in low and high elevations. Results of ANOSIM analyses exhibited no significant difference among species composition of eight groups with 150 m elevational range (P>0.05). Cosmoecious species occurred in almost all elevational ranges whereas others seemed to prefer low to middle elevational ranges. A significant effect of water temperature, magnesium content of water, and total organic phosphate of sediments (P<0.05) were observed on ostracod assemblages. It appears that rather than number of sampling sites, habitat quality and spatial differences played critical roles on the species diversity.