FRESENIUS ENVIRONMENTAL BULLETIN

To document and understand dinoflagellate cyst assemblages, 6 surface sediment samples were collected from Iskenderun Bay, in the northeastern Mediterranean. A total of 28 cyst types were identified and the cyst concentration was attained as 144 cysts g-' dry weight sediment in the bay. The cyst concentration was low when compared to other areas in the Mediterranean. Lingulodinium machaerophorum, SpiMferites bulloideus, and Brigantedinium spp. were the most abundant cysts in the sampling points. Three of the stations had a sandy sediment grain size, while the other stations had a muddy (silt + clay) sediment distribution. Only the clay exhibited a significantly strong positive correlation with the total and heterotrophic dinoflagellate cyst concentrations, whereas no other strong correlation was found between the sediment grain size and dinoflagellate cysts. The present study provides the first modern dinoflagellate cyst records from the surface sediments of Iskenderun Bay, in the northeastern Mediterranean