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.
