engleski

Phytoplankton seasonality in the highly stratified karstic Estuary (Krka, Adriatic Sea)

The phytoplankton assemblages were analysed by cluster analysis (average linkage), applied to Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index computed on density data. Eight groups were identified, which can be joined in five major groups. Spring period was characterised was influenced by high riverine water inflow and development of cocolithophorids. Two summer groups with dinoflagelates and colonial diatomes, summer-autumn with smaller colonial diatomes and winter group with coccolithophorids and small diatomes were determined. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) of the dataset of the time-position data revealed temperature and salinity as the most important indicators of riverine water impact and factors that provoked species composition and phytoplankton seasonality. Nutrient regime was highly influenced by river /sea water exchange, except for ortophosphates that showed no correlation with salinity.

Phytoplankton; assemblages; seasonality; statistical analysis; salinity; temperature

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