Mucilage Problem in the Sea of Marmara

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DOI :10.26650/B/LS32.2023.003.05   IUP :10.26650/B/LS32.2023.003.05    Full Text (PDF)

Characterization of the Mucilage Mass Observed in the Sea of Marmara and the Contribution of Phytoplankton to This Structure

Abdullah Aksu, Neslihan Balkıs Özdelice, Nuray Çağlar Balkıs, Ömer Suat Taşkın, Turgay Durmuş

The mucilage phenomenon, which has been seen on the Italian coasts for many years, has also started to be seen in the Marmara Sea for the last fifteen years. Different microorganisms contribute to this organic structure. It is known that this structure, namely the mucilage aggregates, consists of diatoms, dinoflagellate cyanobacteria, and bacteria. Since the polysaccharides in the mucilage are exposed to many physical and chemical effects such as heat, light, and wave motion and the environment becomes almost a chemical mixture, the origin and characterization of the mucilage should be based on aggregate chemistry and kinetics rather than polysaccharide chemistry. With its intense observation in 2021, the characterization of the mucilage mass—which has never been researched before in the Sea of Marmara—increased its significance and demonstrated that it has to be looked into. Although extensive investigations on the biochemical characterization of the mucilage mass have not been carried out, in earlier years it was assessed how important bacteria and phytoplankton were in the formation of mucilage in terms of species diversity and abundance. In this study, which was carried out to determine the chemical characterization of the mucilage, which was intensely observed in the Sea of Marmara in 2021, samples were taken in March, May, and July. The samples were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer (FT-IR; to determine the characterization) and GC/MS (to determine sugar, fatty acids, and organic compounds). These investigations have revealed the aggregate group that the mucilage belonged to in the relevant months as well as the responsible organisms behind this phenomenon.


Keywords: Aggregate, Characterization, Mucilage, Phytoplankton

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