Influence of abiotic factors on phytoplankton diversity and distribution in an atoll environment

Autor: Marina C. Jales, Fernando A. N. Feitosa, Maria Luise Koening, Manuel De Jesus Flores Montes, Vanessa B. Pedrosa
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Acta Botânica Brasílica, Vol 35, Iss 4, Pp 503-516 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1677-941X
0102-3306
DOI: 10.1590/0102-33062020abb0269
Popis: ABSTRACT Taxonomic investigations of phytoplankton community structure are very important for understanding the dynamics of these organisms in places like reefs, which present broad hydro-biological variation. This study aimed to determine and investigate phytoplankton community composition and biomass in natural pools of Atol das Rocas (3°51’ S; 33°49’ W), and to evaluate the possible influences of abiotic variables throughout different seasons. The oceanographic parameters used to assess the phytoplankton community and its biomass were chlorophyll a, salinity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen and dissolved inorganic nutrient content, namely ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and silica. A total of 109 species were identified, distributed among four groups: Ochrophyta (52.3 %), Dinophyta (37.6 %), Cyanobacteria (7.33 %) and Haptophyta (2.75 %). Although none of the hydrological parameters were found to be statistically determinant, phytoplankton composition in all the studied pools was primarily associated with nutrient salts and there was a qualitative and quantitative increase in phytoplankton in the rainy season. This increase was due to the positive relationship between phytoplankton composition and nutrient salts when associated with local hydrodynamics, which provides more favorable conditions for the enrichment of diversity with emphasis on species that compose the benthic microflora.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals