hrvatski

Istraženost i značajke morske faune Kornatskog otočja

Although the Kornati Archipelago had been considered as a unique region of the Adriatic Sea for a long period, until its proclamation as a national park in 1980 its aquatorium was rarely subject of research. Recently, more attention has been paid to marine flora and fauna, and especially to bottom communities and fish populations, but research was mostly only sporadically carried on. No special taxonomic and/or distributional studies on benthic macrofauna had been ever undertaken, and the pelagic ecosystem and benthic micro- and meiofauna remained literally unknown up to the present time. An attempt to review all existing data on marine fauna - many of them not yet published - resulted in a list of 579 avertebrates, 135 fish, 1 reptile and 3 mammals noted in the area. In the meantime, the monk seal has perhaps already become extinct in the area. In some further specialized research, and actual sum of 2500-3000 taxa could be expected. A comparison with faunal lists from other Adriatic Sea regions suggested that fish, echinoderms and some molluscan and crustacean taxa are rather well known, while research of many other groups is badly needed to enable complex community and biogeographical studies. The Kornati Archipelago is perhaps the contact area of some species characterized by southern and northern distributional patterns in the Adriatic Sea.

morska fauna; biogeografija; Kornatsko otočje; Jadransko more

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