“OCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON ASSEMBLAGE ALONG MARINE NATIONAL PARK & SANCTUARY, GULF OF KUTCH, GUJARAT” 2333
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Date
2017-06
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JUNAGADH
Abstract
Studies on the characteristics of the marine environment are essential in fisheries research, as the conditions in the sea play a key role in the accessibility of fishery resources. The present investigation was carried out on biological diversity of phytoplankton in the coastal water of Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat during the period from August 2015 to February 2017. Fortnightly water samples were collected from Poshitra Island (Location – 1) and Narara Island (Location-2). A total 196 species belonging to 43 families and 39 orders were recorded during the study period. Five major classes of marine phytoplankton were identified viz., Diatoms, Dinoflagellates, Blue-green algae, Brown algae and Green algae. The identified species consisted of diatoms (81.63%), dianoflagellates (13.78%), blue green algae (3.60%), brown algae (1.02%) and green algae (0.51%). Diatoms were the most dominant group among the phytoplankton community with 160 species followed by dianoflagellates (27 Species) and blue green algae (6 Species). Dinoflagellates are the second largest group of phytoplankton after the diatoms, but the abundance of dinoflagellates are very less when compared to diatom population during the entire period of investigation. The density of phytoplankton, at Poshitra Island ranged from 3,78,395 to 5,42,180 cells L-1, whereas at Narara Island it ranged from 4,22,528 to 8,65,665 cells L-1. The density of phytoplankton species was high in the post-monsoon season and proved the number of species (richness) more in the post-monsoon season compared to pre-monsoon and monsoon. There was significant difference in the density of marine phytoplankton in different fortnights, months and seasons due to the changing abiotic parameters. The correlation between the density of phytoplankton with the environmental variables viz., dissolved oxygen and pH were significantly positive whereas it was inversely correlated with the temperature.
Key words: Phytoplankton, abiotic factors, seasonal variation, phytoplankton density
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