International Journal of Farming and Allied Sciences
Available online at www.ijfas.com
©2016 IJFAS Journal-2016-5-7/491-502/ 31 Dec, 2016
ISSN 2322-4134 ©2016 IJFAS
Ecological Relationships between Biotic and
Abiotic parameters within the establishment of Fish
Farming Cage Culture in the southern Caspian Sea
Mohammadali Afraei Bandpei*; Hassan Nasrollahzadeh Saravi; Aboulghasem Roohi;
Farokh Parafkandeh; Nourbakhsh Khodaparast; Houriyeh Younesipour; Abdolla
Nasrolahtabar; Alireza Keihansani
Caspian Sea Ecology Research Center, Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute, Agricultural Research
Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Sari, Iran
Corresponding author: Mohammadali Afraei Bandpei
ABSTRACT: This research examines the abundance and biomass of biota factor with the relation of
some physicochemical parameters at the fish cage culture in the southern Caspian Sea (Kelarabad-
Mazandaran, Iran) in 2013 to 2015. Seasonal sampling was conducted at three stations, station1 (fish
cage site), station 2(at a distance of 500 m west), and station 3 (at a 50 meters east of the fish cages).
The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between the density and biomass of
phytoplankton, zooplankton and macrobenthos and the concentration of some heavy metals and
petroleum parameters. A total of 38 species of phytoplankton, 6 species of zooplankton and 7 species of
macrobenthos were identified. The results showed that the highest concentration of DON and DIN was
recorded in winter which showed a positive correlation between phytoplankton and nutrients. At the
present study, the abundance and biomass of phytoplankton showed reduced in the spring but in
contrast the density and biomass of zooplankton was highest which would be due to full feeding of
predators, zooplankton. Comparison of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) at different seasons
showed that the highest amount was detected in spring and the highest concentration of Anthracene and
Fluoranthene was in autumn. The results showed that the amount of pollutants in the Caspian Sea was
less than the standard limited. There was not significant differences between petroleum amounts in
various seasons (P>0.05). The environmental parameters analysis showed that 5 to 20 meter depths
were considered as sensitive areas and a depth of 5 and 10-20 meter divided on two groups that
represent the interactions between biotic and abiotic parameters on each other's activities.
Keywords: Biotic and abiotic groups, fish cages, Kelarabad, Caspian Sea
INTRODUCTION
Breeding fish in the sea to spread globally and although plenty of marine products for human consumption
provides a mutually pressure on food supplies entering [33]. Caspian Sea due to its geographical location, unique
resource of plants and animals, including sturgeon (Acipenseridae), bony fish (Cyprinidae) and Kilka fish
(Clupeidae) has a great importance that any change in the Caspian Sea ecosystem will affect the creatures [14, 3].
Physicochemical variety of Situations River leading to the sea due to the entry industrial waste and sewage plants,
urban and rural communities and changes the biotic and abiotic the Caspian Sea. Other factors like entry the new
species from the Black Sea into the Caspian Sea e.g. Mnemiopsis leidyi [12, 39], climate changes and ballast
water made changes the diversity and density of phytoplankton species [27] and zooplankton [40]. The adverse