Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Aquatic Science, Animal Science and Zoology
6
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Seasonal Changes in Molluscan Diversity, Density and Biomass (Gastropoda and Bivalvia) in Pomorie Lake (Black Sea, Bulgaria) Silviya Kalcheva E., Dian Georgiev M., Plamen Manev M. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica, 2025 The seasonal variations in molluscan diversity, density and biomass (Gastropoda and Bivalvia) in Pomorie Lake (Black Sea), were examined. The research was conducted over an eight-month period (April–November 2022), covering six distinct sampling sites. A total of 12 molluscan species were identified. The average molluscan density was 26,746 ind/m². The dominant species in terms of density throughout all seasons and sites was Ecrobia maritima, demonstrating extreme seasonal variability. Other abundant species included Mytilaster lineatus, Bittium reticulatum and Cerastoderma glaucum, which exhibited distinct seasonal density peaks. Densities of M. lineatus, Pusillina lineolata and C. glaucum peaked in spring, while B. reticulatum had maximum abundance in summer. Cerastoderma glaucum was the dominant species in terms of biomass (43% of total biomass), followed by M. lineatus (40%). The study highlighted the influence of environmental parameters (salinity, temperature, substrate composition and anthropogenic impacts) on the molluscan community structure. The observed fluctuations suggest that the ecosystem of the Pomorie Lake is undergoing shifts due to hydrological and climatic changes. The findings contribute to the long-term monitoring of the biodiversity in this protected wetland and offer insights into the ecological dynamics of hypersaline lagoons.
Phytoplankton Study in Pomorie Lake, Black Sea (Bulgaria) Ecologia Balkanica, 2021
Morphometric studies of protostrongylidae’s third stage larvae (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) found in helicella obvia in the pastures of central south bulgaria Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 2020
Chemical composition and levels of heavy metals in fish meat of the Cyprinidae family from Zhrebchevo Dam, Central Bulgaria Ecologia Balkanica, 2018
Heavy metals concentrations in organs of Red Foxes (Vulpes Vulpes Linnaeus, 1758) and Golden Jackals (Canis Aureus Linnaeus, 1758) inhabiting the “Sarnena Sredna Gora” mountain in Bulgaria Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 2018
Aquatic Snails Ecrobia maritima (Milaschewitsch, 1916) and E. Ventrosa (Montagu, 1803) (Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae) in the East Mediterranean and Black Sea Artur Osikowski, Sebastian Hofman, Dilian Georgiev, Silviya Kalcheva, Andrzej Falniowski Annales Zoologici, 2016 In the paper cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) in minute gastropods Ecrobia has been sequenced from five localities at the Black Sea (Pomorie Lake and Constanza) and eastern Mediterranean (Gulf of Corinth, Evvoia Island, Attica). Pomorie Lake, a hyperhaline lagoon in eastern Bulgaria, harbours a population of Ecrobia maritima, whose shell and penis morphology are presented. COI partial sequences of E. maritima from Pomorie Lake differ markedly from those in the two Aegean populations not studied so far (Evvoia Island, Attica), and from another four studied earlier, scattered across the Black Sea and Aegean Sea. Such a high level of divergence was unexpected, since Pomorie Lake is only about 20 km away from the closest known locality of E. maritima (Burgas, Bulgaria). The mean p distance within E. maritima was 0.0113. A similar value of p distance (0.0137) was found within the clade grouping all the haplotypes of E. ventrosa. Mean genetic distance between these two species is p = 0.048. E. ventrosa inhabits western Europe, Tunisia, the Peloponnesus and the Corinthian Gulf (Itea: present study), both in the Ionian Sea, and — surprisingly — the coast of the Black Sea in Romania (Constanza: present study). E. maritima was found in the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Estimated time of divergence between the species is 3.30 ± 0.23 Mya, and 1.00 ± 0.11 Mya between E. maritima from Pomorie Lake and the other studied localities. The observed pattern is discussed in the context of the geological history of the region, especially glaciation events. Speciation of E. maritima in the Ponto-Caspian waters isolated from the Mediterranean in the Late Piacenzian and divergence of the population presently occurring in Pomorie Lake during the local Calabrian salinity crisis are postulated.
