Marine debris are frequently studied on beaches and occasionally in coastal waters, but links between these two environments have rarely been studied. Litter items were collected by hand in the Gökçeada beaches supralittoral zone, consisting of sandy or rocky beaches, and collected from subtidal areas between 50–450 m depth range on the continental shelf with bottom trawling. Collected litter were sorted and categorized by type, usage and origin. On the beaches, litter density varied from 0.1 to 22.1 items per 100 m2. Plastic materials dominated the composition of waste materials (59%) followed by soft plastic, nylon (11.5%). Eight percent of litter was of foreign in origin coming from two countries (Greece and Bulgaria). Offshore, during 32 hauls only 12 items were collected, and the number of debris ranged from 0 to 1.6 items km−2. Gökçeada Island should be further monitored in order to develop regional marine litter management solutions.
Epiphytic microalgae attached to Posidonia oceanica leaves play a significant role through primary production, nutrient cycling and trophic fluxes in benthic ecosystems. Due to their sensitivity, epiphytic microalgae respond to environmental alterations more quickly than their host. The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the ecological quality in Gökçeada Underwater Park (North Aegean) using epiphytic microalgal composition and abundance. In this respect, P. oceanica shoots are collected at 6m, 15m and 28m in May, July, October 2009 and January 2010 to estimate the microalgal composition and abundance. Also, P. oceanica descriptors and physico-chemical parameters in the water column of the meadow lower limit are measured. Leaf surface improvement through greater depths, have provided a convenient substratum for epiphytic colonization. A total of 56 taxa belonging to epiphytic microalgae are composed of Bacillariophyceae (91%), Cyanophyceae (7%) and Dinophyceae (2%). Temporal and bathymetric dynamics of the epiphytic community structure and abundance depend on the environmental parameters; such as leaf surface, nutrients and turbidity. Also, a mucilage phenomenon, resulted in a low diversity due to the dominancy of filamentous cyanobacteria. Necessary data is supplied for a less evaluated region affected by agricultural activities and urbanization in the recent years.
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