Influence of moonlight on the vertical migrations of benthopelagic organisms in the near-shore area of the Black Sea

From October 1999 to September 2000, six daily stations have been carried out to study the influence of the phases of the moon on the intensity of the vertical migrations of benthopelagic plankton in Golubaya Bay (near Gelendzhik). It was found that, at the full moon, the density and species diversity of the species of benthopelagic organisms are less than those in the first or the last quarters of the moon. The maximum abundance and diversity of benthopelagic organisms at the full moon occur at the beginning of the dark period. During the other phases of the moon, a gradual increase in the animal density is observed, whose maximum, as a rule, occurs in the middle of the night. At the full moon, benthopelagic animals are basically represented by juvenile individuals; all the adult individuals are males.