Macrozoobenthic Communities of Compact Grounds in Streams of Eastern Black Sea Region

Abstract

The diversity of macrobenthic communities formed on rocky and pebbly ground in water streams of the eastern Black Sea Region (the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, and Northern Turkey) was analyzed on the basis of the original data, including 320 quantitative samples. We described eight types of communities (epi-, eu-, chimaro-, lenti-, psepho-, limo-, limnogeno-, and madirhithral), several subtypes, and a series of subregional and altitudinal-temperature variants. Specific features of the typology of communities in the region and different kinds of their variability within the types are discussed.