ABSTRACT

The data on spatial distribution and qualitative and quantitative composition of macrophytobenthos are presented by the results of investigations carried out in 2004 at Cape Ak-Burun (Crimea: priority site Takyl; the Black Sea). Variations in values of indices along the coast and in the depths of the Black Sea are characterized. In all, 68 species of macroalgae were registered: Chlorophyta − 13 (19%), Phaeophyta − 19 (28%), and Rhodophyta − 42 (62%). The benthos vegetation biomass reaches 0.7 − 1 kg·m⁻² in pseudolittoral (32 species of algae) and 1.5 − 7 kg·m⁻² in sublittoral (64 species of algae). It is prudent to distinguish two subzones within the pseudolittoral zone. Algoflora is of a highly expressed oligosaprobic character. As to the quantity of species, the algae with short-vegetating periods are the dominants, as for biomass − the perennial algae predominate. The water area is recommended to be included into the Nature Reserve Fund.