Determination of Fish Diversity in The Rocky Habitat Around Mersin Boğsak Island (Northeast Mediterranean) by Visual Census Method

ATEŞ, Mert | ÇİFTÇİ, Nuray | AYAS, Deniz

The study was carried out in the rocky bottom habitat of Boğsak Island in Mersin Bay in November, March and July 2022-2023, using visual census method between 0-18 m depth and the survey was conducted along a transect. In the study, the structure of the fish community of the rocky bottom habitat of Boğsak Island was determined and the seasonal availability, abundance, feeding status and distribution of native and non-native fish species were determined. Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H') was used to determine species diversity and multidimensional scaling analysis was used to determine the relationship between the data. A total of 29 fish species, including 28 bony fish species belonging to 15 families and 1 cartilaginous Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) were identified in the study a...