Demersal Elasmobranchs of the Sea of MarmaraKabasakal, Hakan (Avtor) Karakulak, F. Saadet (Avtor) ElasmobranchiisurvivalconservationinventorySea of MarmaraTurkeyA total of 16 elasmobranch species (nine shark and seven batoid species) were sampled in the Sea of Marmara (SoM) between 2014 and 2024 for this study. During the same period, an additional nine species (six shark and three batoid species) were recorded from the same area by other researchers. Over the past 100 years, 32 species of demersal elasmobranchs (16 shark and 16 batoid species) have been reported from the SoM, but applying “evidence-based confirmed or unconfirmed presence” criteria reduces the current number to 25 (15 shark species, 10 batoid species). Principal Component Analysis indicates that adaptability to shallower waters is now critical to the spatial distribution of demersal elasmobranchs in the SoM. This shift clearly shows how dramatically the environmental degradation, marine pollution, and deoxygenation have reduced the region’s elasmobranch fauna primarily to demersal species over the last 40 years, underscoring the potentially devastating impact of such degradation on biodiversity.20252026-06-26 14:51:09Delo ni kategorizirano30477slImetniki avtorskih pravic na prispevkih so avtorji. CC BY 4.0