The bottom-dwelling life of the Sea of Marmara — whose surface is fed by the Black Sea and depths by Aegean waters, forming two distinct water layers that do not mix — was recorded with underwater cameras.
The footage showed many species, including turbot, stingrays, sole, flounder, gurnard, crabs and anglerfish, continuing to live in sandy and silty areas.
These creatures camouflage themselves with sand when threatened and hunt invertebrates and vertebrates beneath the seabed for food.
With the help of specialized receptors that detect chemical signals, they trigger cellular activity and sustain their life cycles.
In underwater imaging studies conducted in Değirmendere, Gölcük, sea potatoes (Brissopsis lyrifera), which spend their entire lives buried in sand, were observed to have died en masse in parts of the gulf, especially below 30 meters, due to oxygen depletion.
