The Influences Of Oceanographical Characteristics Of The North Coasts Of Karaburun Peninsula On The Benthic Foraminiferal And Os?tracod Assemblages

Major differences in benthic foraminifera assemblages have been observed between the east and the west coast of the northern Karaburun Peninsula. In contrast to the rich fauna of the Çeşme Canal on the west coast, a poor assemblage was found on the east coast, which is located in the Gulf of Izmir. 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 framework of this study, 84 foraminifera species were identified. 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 foraminifer species observed. 24 ostracod species were identified. Our findings 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 assess the effects of mercury mining and other environmental factors 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 operated from ancient times until the 1970s. However, mercury minerals have not been observed in the muck found in the vicinity. The piles of muck may have been be washed out during rains, resulting in the transport of the acidic solutions of Hg, As and Fe into the nearby seasonal stream and downstream to the sea. The sea water samples collected from the two locations showed differences in their heavy metals and trace element contents, such as Al, Si, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and As, but no significant difference was observed in Hg.