Long-Term Changes in the Fish Fauna of the Karkinitsky Gulf of the Black Sea
The summarized composition of the fish fauna of the Karkinitsky Gulf of the Black Sea was established for the first time on the basis of literary and original data for the entire period of research; 108 fish species were recorded in total. Twenty-three new fish species, among them representatives of the Mediterranean faunistic complex, form the basis of the faunistic diversity of the western part of the Karkinitsky Gulf. Influence of various anthropogenic activities has led to the disappearance of 16 fish species from the Crimean coast: 8 species of the family Cyprinidae and one species from each of the families Centrarhidae, Gasterosteidae and Gobiidae; natural ranges of these species were confined earlier to the areas of freshwater discharge from the North Crimean Canal in the eastern part of the Karkinitsky Gulf. The cease of the Canal function caused a change in the ranges of fish species of different ecological groups.