The taxonomic and autoecological investigation of benthic foraminifera of recent sediments on the continental shelf of the Büyük Menderes River delta

In this study, the taxonomic investigation of the benthic foraminifera ofHolocene sediments on the sea-bottom on the continental shelf of the BüyükMenderes River delta has been carried out.16 of the samples taken within this project have been studied in terms ofbenthic foraminiferal contents and sedimentologically. For the benthic foraminiferalcontents, 5 g of dry sediment sample was taken and sieved in a 63 ?m sieve in thelaboratory and after benthic forms in every sample were picked out, all taxonomicalidentifications were made on these forams.In the study area, from the foraminifera 62 genera belonging to a total of 38families and 87 species were identified. Though agglutinated foraminifera arewidespread, they never reach dominant number, 6 foraminiferal assemblages areidentified from calcareous forms. These are respectively; Valvulineria bradyana(Fornasini), Neoeponides bradyi Le Calvez, Ammonia compacta (Hofker), Ammoniatepida (Cushman), Cribroelphidium poeyanum (d?Orbigny) and Elphidium crispum(Linné).Key Words: Aegean Sea, Benthic foraminifer, Taxonomy, Holocene, Mediterranean