Abstract

The present study was conducted on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from Izmir Bay, Aegean Sea subject to high human impact. Sediment cores were taken from twelve stations. Twenty-eight dinoflagellate cyst types, representing nine genera, were identified. The most common cysts were those of Lingulodinium machaerophorum, Polykrikos kofoidii, Quinquecuspis concreta and Dubridinium caperatum. Potentially toxic species were widely distributed in the study area. This finding is also important to know the seed-bank areas in the Bay of Izmir.

Key words: Dinoflagellate cysts, cyst assemblage, cyst morphology, Izmir Bay, surface sediments.