Phytoplankton Abundance and Diversity in Three Sea Bathing Sites in Western and Southern Coasts of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Phytoplankton is a group of organisms which are capable of reflecting the conditions of water. In the present study, the phytoplankton abundance, species diversity and composition was investigated in relation to some chemical parameters in three famous sea bathing sites; Mt.Lavinia, Unawatuna and Polhena during August to October 2016. A total of 119 species of phytoplankton were identified during the study. The phytoplankton abundance ranged from 0.57 * 103 to 12.25 * 103 cells L 1. The results of two-way ANOVA revealed that the temporal and spatial variation of total phytoplankton abundance were significant at p=0.05. The significantly higher total phytoplankton abundance was reported in September than that of August and October while significantly higher total abundance was found at Unawatuna than that of Mt. Lavinia and Polhena. The baseline information on phytoplankton community structure obtained in relation to chemical parameters can be used for better management of these sites to develop marine tourism.