Abstract:
The study of phytoplankton community in Tha Chin estuary, Samut Sakhon province, was carried out bimonthly from July 1997 to July 1998. Diversity and abundance of phytoplankton was separate into two size classes of microplankton and nanoplankton. Chlorophyll a biomass was examined together with the phytoplankton organic carbon and organic nitrogen. Environmental parameters and concentrations of major nutrients w ere also investigated. A total of 70 genera of microplankton were collected. Highest diversity and evenness indices were observed from the phytoplankton community in rainy season (November 1997). On the other hand, lowest diversity and evenness indices were found in dry season. Maximum average density of microplankton found was 2.69x10⁷ cells/l in March 1998 and the minimum value in July 1997 was 3.57x10⁵ cells/l. Diatom was the dominant microplankton in dry season 1997. Blue-green algae and green algae were more abundance in rainy season. The dominant genera of microplankton in term of both frequency of occurrence and the abundance consisted of the diatoms: Skeletonema sp., Thalassiosira spp. and Nitzschia spp. and the blue-green algae Oscillatona spp. Average density of nanoplankton was 3.41x10⁶-2.48x10⁷ cells/l with the maximum density in July 1998 and the minimum value in March 1998. The most abundant nanoplankton was unidentified flagellates followed by diatoms and green algae. The abundance of phytoplankton was higher during the day time than at night. Average chlorophyll a concentrations of total phytoplankton were higher than other estuaries around the Gulf of Thailand with the maximum value of 38.14 mg/mᶟ in July 1998 and the minimum of 7.85 mg/mᶟ in January 1998. Most of the year, chlorophyll a concentrations of pico- and nanoplankton was greater than microplankton except during Skeletonema sp. bloom in March and May 1998. This indicated that pico- and nanoplankton was the important primary producers in Tha Chin estuary. Salinity was the major factor controlling diversity and abundance of phytoplankton in this area. The minor factors were the concentrations of ammonium and silicate. Estimated primary production in this area indicated the mesotrophic-eutrophic nature of the system . Microplankton and pico- and nanoplankton relative chlorophyll biomass were 35.14% and 64.86% of total chlorophyll a, respectively. Our result showed the ecological role of nano-phytoplankton in elemental cycling and pelagic food web in Tha Chin estuary. It also indicated the change in phytoplankton population structure due to ad verse environmental conditions. However, The Tha Chin estuary is still high productive area in term of primary production.