Distribution and species diversity of phytoplankton in the inshore waters of Tuticorin in relation to the physicochemical variables

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the phytoplankton community structure and its relationship with selected physicochemical variables in the inshore waters of Tuticorin during January to December 2008. Water and plankton samples from the surface waters at two depths (5m and 10m) were collected on board the research vessel Cadalmin-IV. Standard methods were followed for phytoplankton identification, enumeration and estimation of physicochemical variables. The present study recorded 69 species of phytoplankton with 85.5% dominance of diatoms followed by 14.5% of dinoflagellates. The overall density of phytoplankton was comparatively higher at 10 m with a mean of 2.14x10 4 ±0.4x10 4 cells L-1 and 3.37x10 4 ±0.9x10 4 cells L-1 at 5 m and 10 m depth respectively. The analysis indicated that 10 m depth, especially during the monsoon season, is rich in diversity of algal species than at the same depth during post-monsoon. It is confirmed that the population density of phytoplankton is more influenced by seasonal fluctuation of the physicochemical variables especially due to the effect of northeast monsoon in the inshore waters of Tuticorin.

Monthly Variations of Dinoflagellates in Relation to the Water Parameters Along Purnagad Estuary, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India

“…Ceratium furca was infrequently found in May, similar result found in Cochin estuary [23]. Ceratium fusus (14%) was recorded maximum in numbers in Feb, May, June, July and November, with similar results observed along Tuticorin [24]. Ceratium fusus (203 no.…”

Distribution and diversity of phytoplankton in Kadalundi estuary, southwest coast of India

“…Thus, diatoms dominated qualitatively as well as quantitatively among the phytoplankton. The dominance of diatoms among phytoplankton was recorded earlier by several researchers (Subramanyan et al, 1975;Gopinathan and Rodrigo, 1991;Rajkumar et al, 2009;Madhu et al, 2010;Robin et al, 2010;Babu et al, 2013;Dayala et al, 2014;Minu et al, 2014;Dinesh et al, 2017;Roshith et al, 2018;Asha et al, 2018;Ali et al, 2019). Among diatoms, Trieres chinensis and Skeletonema costatum dominated (9% each), followed by Biddulphia mobilensis (8%), Paralia sulcata (5%) and other species constituted less than 5% each.…”

“…The maximum cell density of phytoplankton in the monsoon was also recorded by Ajithamol et al (2014) from the Manakudy estuary on the southwest coast of India. But in some other studies conducted in different ecosystems, phytoplankton showed the maximum during pre-monsoon (Asha et al, 2018;Minu et al, 2014;Baliarsingh et al, 2015), summer (Thillai Rajasekar et al, 2005;Prabhahar et al, 2011;Perumal et al, 2009;Dinesh et al, 2017) or post-monsoon seasons (Dayala et al, 2014;Mayura et al, 2018). The unusual massive flood in August 2018 in this area might have brought out several changes in the water quality of this estuary which might have influenced the phytoplankton abundance and blooming in September.…”

Risk assessment of heavy metal content in yam tubers locally produced in selected local government areas of Taraba State, Nigeria

“…Unfortunately, the use of pesticides and fertilizers on crops has been associated with the release of heavy metals such as Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni), and Stannum (Sn) (Olawale et al 2022). Consumption of food contaminated with heavy metals seriously affects the health and economic status of the population (Asha et al 2010;Tchounwou et al 2012). Heavy metal contamination could originate from several sources, such as rocks, industrial wastes, and chemicals deposited into the soil (Seepersaud et al 2018).…”