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The Asia's largest lagoon, Chilika, is a shallow water estuary and a designated "Ramsar" site located in the east coast of India. The spatiotemporal diversity of phytoplankton based on the monthly sampling between July 2011 and June 2012 was investigated in relation to physicochemical variables of the surface water column from 13 stations. The salinity was minimum (average 9) during the monsoon which was primarily due to riverine discharge. As the season progressed towards post-monsoon, average salinity of the whole lagoon reached to 10 which further increased to 20 during pre-monsoon season. A total of 259 species of phytoplankton, mostly dominated by the Bacillariophyta (138 species) followed by Dinophyta (38 species), Chlorophyta (32 species), Cyanophyta (29 species), Euglenophyta (18 species), and Chrysophyta (4 species), were recorded in this study. Different ecological sectors of the lagoon (except the northern sector) were dominated by diatoms, while the northern sector due to its freshwater regime supported large population of euglenoids. Based on the multivariate ordination analysis, salinity regime and light availability played important role in determining the distribution, diversity, and composition of phytoplankton communities. Overall, this study documented a very high diversity of phytoplankton and highlighted the importance of taking extensive sampling in getting a clearer understanding of phytoplankton community structure in less-studied environments such as Chilika lagoon.

Assessment of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) in the Chilika Lagoon, India, revealed a significant spatio-temporal variation in surface water (analysis of variance: n = 120, p < .01), whereas insignificant variation in sediment samples. The lagoon exhibited the highest PHC concentration during summer, attributed to higher boat activity and mixing of PHC from bottom sediment. For PHC in both the water of the lagoon and regions adjacent to jetties, the northern sector exhibited highest concentrations, followed by the southern, outer channels and central sectors, in order. The highest PHC level was due to the highest density of fishing boat operations and maintenance activities, as well as the resuspension of lake sediments across the shallowest region of the lagoon. The PHC found in the water and sediment in the jetty regions were relatively high in comparison to the rest of the lagoon, again attributed to the maintenance and operational activities of the motorised boats in the jetties. The sediment PHC concentration was ∼1000 times higher than the respective value for water, which could result from long-term deposition. The overall PHC concentration in the lagoon and jetties was found to be under the threshold limit and hence there is no risk to the existing biodiversity of the Chilika Lagoon. ARTICLE HISTORY