Temporal variation of the soft-bottom molluscan fauna in north-western İskenderun Bay (Levantine Sea)

The present study was performed to follow temporal variation of the soft-bottom molluscan fauna in north-western Iskenderun Bay. The benthic material was collected at a depth ranging from 3 to 37 m at 12 sampling locations by the van Veen grab sampler in the summer season of 2012, 2013 and 2014. A total of 133 species were identified in the study area through the examination of the collected material. Among the identified species, Corbula gibba (Olivi, 1792), Bittium reticulatum (da Costa, 1778), Nassarius pygmaeus (Lamarck, 1822), Cerithidium diplax (Watson, 1886) and Finella pupoides Adams, A., 1860 have the highest values of the frequency index. According to the Bray-Curtis similarity index, these species also have an important effect on the similarity between the stations. Furthermore, C. diplax and F. pupoides are alien species to the Mediterranean.