AUTHOR=Sathish Kumar P. , Dharani G. , Santhanakumar J. , Jha Dilip Kumar , Pandey Vikas , Venkatnarayanan S. , Jebakumar J. Prince Prakash , Muthukumar C. , James R. Arthur 

TITLE=Assessment of phytoplankton diversity, distribution, and environmental variables along the southeast coast of India

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1215627

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.1215627

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=	Coastal waters are undergoing changes because of anthropogenic activities which contribute nutrients and contaminant like metals. These changes have the potential to alter patterns of primary production and thus alter pelagic food webs. Here, we assessed the spatial variations of the phytoplankton community and their response to the changing environmental variables in 84 stations along the five coastal districts of Tamil Nadu (TN).  During the present study, eighty-five phytoplankton species were recorded including diatoms (64), dinoflagellates (18), silicoflagellates (1), and Cyanophyceae (2). Maximum phytoplankton abundance was recorded in Thanjavur coast and gradually decreased towards the south coast of Tamil Nadu. Among the phytoplankton community, 50% was dominated by pennate diatoms attributed higher NO3−concentration in the coastal water due to agricultural discharge. The cluster analysis revealed that Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli formed a closed cluster whereas Thanjavur and Pudukottai formed a separate closed cluster associated with higher nutrient and metal concentration highlighting the difference in physicochemical parameters of northern and southern districts of TN coast. Relatively high metal concentration and nutrients in the coastal waters of northern districts are of greater concerns, which could negatively impact the coastal ecosystem. The coastal eutrophication becoming a prevalent phenomenon, causing disruptions in food chains and ecosystem balances, and hence requires immediate attention.