Correlational analyses of the relationships between altitude and carapace size of Ostracoda (Crustacea)

To explore the relationship between ostracods carapace (body) size and altitude, 117 non-marine aquatic habitats were sampled from Mersin province (Turkey) during 03–09 October 2015. A total of 36 species and 14 sub-fossils were detected from 66 of 117 sites located between −3 m and 1630 m a.s.l. Thirty-four of the species are previously unknown in the province. In addition, four of the taxa were new records for the Turkish Ostracoda fauna. Five species ( Ilyocypris bradyi, Heterocypris salina, H. incongruens, Psychrodromus olivaceus, Potamocypris fallax ) were the most common among all habitats with relatively wide ecological and altitudinal ranges. Canonical correspondence analyses revealed 72.6% of the relationship between 12 ostracods and five environmental variables. Water temperature and pH were the two most influential variables ( p