RESTING STAGES PRODUCED BY PLANKTON IN THE BLACK SEA - BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

To study the potential "hidden" biodiversity of the plankton in the Western Black Sea and species that could represent an ecological concern in the future, resting cysts were analyzed for the first time in superficial sediments along a transect offshore the city of Varna (Bulgaria) and a sediment trap material from the open sea. An interesting finding was the record of eight species (in resting phase), new in the Black Sea. Based on the bioinvasion history and the ecological affinity of the observed species (cysts), the results suggest future implications for the Black Sea ecosystem and biodiversity.