Abstract:

This study was carried out to determine the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of Dilderesi, Yalakdere, and Kirazdere Streams between February and November 2019. Sampling was performed seasonally at three sampling stations of each stream, nine stations in total, selected along the streams. The multihabitat sampling method was performed to collect macroinvertebrates using Surber-net, and Van Veen Grab. Organisms were sorted in the laboratory and then identified using appropriate identification keys. According to our results, a total of 179 taxa was determined throughout the study: 114 taxa belonging to 45 families in the Kirazdere stream, 98 taxa belonging to 33 families in the Yalakdere stream, and 89 taxa belonging to 32 families in the Dilderesi stream. The most common taxa among the identified benthic macroinvertebrates are Caenis sp. and Paratricochladius rufiventris. Taxa belonging to Oligochaeta, Chironomidae, and Gastropoda were detected at the downstream regions in the streams, while the remaining taxa especially belong to Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera were detected at the upstream regions in the streams. This is the first study to determine the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna in Dilderesi and Kirazdere streams. Besides, 90 taxa are new records for Yalakdere.

Keywords: