Climate Change and Biodiversity Effects in Turkish Seas

Sea temperature change in the Mediterranean, Marmara and Black Sea coasts of Turkey and its biodiversity effects are investigated. The surface sea water temperatures of the Mediterranean, Marmara and Black Sea region of Turkey for last 41 years showed increased trends in Mediterranean Sea (Iskenderun, Mersin and Antalya), Marmara Sea (Istanbul) and Black Sea (Samsun). The number of Indo-Pacific species is getting rapidly increased for the last decade that caused increased invasion of the Indo-Pacific species and significant shift of biodiversity in Turkish Seas. This settlement process is probably accelerated or facilitated by global climate change and overfishing of native species. Nowadays, the occurrence of Atlantic-Mediterranean (Lithognathus mormyrus, Serranus hepatus and Callinectes sapidus) and Indo-Pacific (Stephanolepis diaspros, Lagocephalus spadiceus) originated species in the Marmara and Black Seas can also be an important indicator of the process of Mediterranization of the Marmara and Black Seas.