Chapter 21
Macrophytobenthos from the Romanian Black
Sea Coast – An Overview of the Studies
and Actual State
Daciana Sava
Abstract The unique nature of the Black Sea, (stated as “unicum
hydrobiologicum” by N.M. Knipovich) refers not only to its physico-chemical
conditions, but also to its biodiversity. Several decades ago, under the influence
of different events that occurred, the Black Sea ecosystem, and the Romanian
coastal area, were affected. Under the influence of pollution and eutrophication,
the state of all living communities from both qualitative and quantitative point of
view, has changed. A number of observations that took place in the last years,
confirmed the qualitative decline (fewer species), and the near disappearance of
perennial species (brown and red algae) and as a consequence, the disappearance of
associated or epiphytic species, and the uniformity of algal belts occur.
The research provides data obtained from the study of the macrophytobenthos
from the Romanian littoral, both in northern and southern sector, where the
macroalgae were collected from various types of hard substratum, several times a
year, in both cold and warm seasons. In each sample, species were identified, and
representative individuals were kept for the herbarium collection. The ecological
factors influence the development of macrophytes along the Romanian shore, so
they must be mentioned in all these studies.
The research shows that because of the newly created ecological conditions, the
actual algal communities consist of a smaller number of species than previously
reported, and most of them are opportunistic species with a short life cycle and
rapid growth, like species from green algae Enteromorpha, Ulva and Cladophora
genera, and Ceramiun from red algae, that persisted and proliferated under these
environmental conditions displaying considerable biomass.
Keywords Romanian coast • Black Sea • Macrophytobenthos • Environmental
changes
D. Sava (*)
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University Ovidius of Constant ¸a, Campus B,
University Alley 1, Constanta, Romania
e-mail: daciana.sava@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
C.W. Finkl, C. Makowski (eds.), Diversity in Coastal Marine Sciences, Coastal
Research Library 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57577-3_21
369
Macrophytobenthos from the Romanian Black
Sea Coast – An Overview of the Studies
and Actual State
Daciana Sava
Abstract The unique nature of the Black Sea, (stated as “unicum
hydrobiologicum” by N.M. Knipovich) refers not only to its physico-chemical
conditions, but also to its biodiversity. Several decades ago, under the influence
of different events that occurred, the Black Sea ecosystem, and the Romanian
coastal area, were affected. Under the influence of pollution and eutrophication,
the state of all living communities from both qualitative and quantitative point of
view, has changed. A number of observations that took place in the last years,
confirmed the qualitative decline (fewer species), and the near disappearance of
perennial species (brown and red algae) and as a consequence, the disappearance of
associated or epiphytic species, and the uniformity of algal belts occur.
The research provides data obtained from the study of the macrophytobenthos
from the Romanian littoral, both in northern and southern sector, where the
macroalgae were collected from various types of hard substratum, several times a
year, in both cold and warm seasons. In each sample, species were identified, and
representative individuals were kept for the herbarium collection. The ecological
factors influence the development of macrophytes along the Romanian shore, so
they must be mentioned in all these studies.
The research shows that because of the newly created ecological conditions, the
actual algal communities consist of a smaller number of species than previously
reported, and most of them are opportunistic species with a short life cycle and
rapid growth, like species from green algae Enteromorpha, Ulva and Cladophora
genera, and Ceramiun from red algae, that persisted and proliferated under these
environmental conditions displaying considerable biomass.
Keywords Romanian coast • Black Sea • Macrophytobenthos • Environmental
changes
D. Sava (*)
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University Ovidius of Constant ¸a, Campus B,
University Alley 1, Constanta, Romania
e-mail: daciana.sava@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
C.W. Finkl, C. Makowski (eds.), Diversity in Coastal Marine Sciences, Coastal
Research Library 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57577-3_21
369