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Spatio-Temporal Pattern of Phytoplankton Assemblages in the Southern Part of the Caspian Sea

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Abstract

Spatial and temporal variations in physico-chemical properties of coastal waters play a major role in determining the density, diversity and occurrence of phytoplankton. The present study is conducted to assess spatio-temporal pattern of phytoplankton assemblage in the southern parts of the Caspian Sea (CS) which in turn can serve as an ecological health indicator in this region. Among 64 identified phytoplankton species, diatoms (37 species and 66.2%) and Dinophyceae (11 species and 18.2%) were dominant. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) were employed to reveal Spatial and temporal distributions of phytoplankton assemblages. Four groups were established using hierarchical clustering based on species richness similarities which were absolutely represented the four seasons. The summer and spring samples were highly separated from the winter and autumn samples. The Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) model showed that temporal patterns of phytoplankton assemblages were mostly explained by chemical factors (silicate, phosphate, and nitrite) and temperature. In conclusion, results of this study suggested that spatio-temporal patterns of phytoplankton in the southern part of the CS are closely associated with seasonal variations in river flow and temperature. The temporal patterns are apparently dominant in this area and water nutrients are mainly responsible for seasonal changes.

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Acknowledgements

This research was conducted under the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, Tehran, Iran

    Neda Mehdipour

  2. Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Science, 510380, Guangzhou, China

    Chao Wang

  3. Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad Hasan Gerami

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  1. Neda Mehdipour
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  2. Chao Wang
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  3. Mohammad Hasan Gerami
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Correspondence to Mohammad Hasan Gerami.

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Mehdipour, N., Wang, C. & Gerami, M.H. Spatio-Temporal Pattern of Phytoplankton Assemblages in the Southern Part of the Caspian Sea. Thalassas 33, 99–108 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-017-0027-0

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