Abstract
Abstract The phytoplankton community is the first link in the aquatic trophic chain and knowledge of its composition is an important tool for ecological characterization; including as potential indicator of anthropic impacts. The southern coast of Bahia is one of the best preserved parts of the Brazilian coast, however, little is known about its biodiversity, especially on marine phycoflora. With the objective of characterizing the composition of microphytoplankton (> 20 µm) in this region, samples were collected by a horizontal dredger using a plankton net (20 µm mesh size) to study the community composition. Water samples were taken from the subsurface using a Van Dorn bottle in order to analyze phytoplanktonic cell concentration. A total of 149 taxa were identified, distributed in the following phyla: Bacillariophyta, Miozoa, Cyanobacteria, Euglenophyta, Haptophyta, and Ochrophyta. Diatoms (63%) and dinoflagellates (26%) were the most representative groups in the specific composition. 43 new taxonomic occurrences were recorded for the coasts of Bahia, Northeastern Brazilian coast, and Brazilian coast.
Highlights
The phytoplankton community is the first link in the aquatic trophic chain (Reynolds 2006) and knowledge of its composition is an important tool for the ecological characterization of coastal ecosystems
In the case of Bahia, which comprises the most extensive part of the Brazilian coast, little is known about phytoplankton communities; most published studies are concentrated in the Todos os Santos Bay (e.g., Peixinho et al 1980; Cowgill 1987; Mafalda Jr. et al 2003; Magalhães & Barbosa 2008) and Camamu Bay (i.e., Affe & Santana 2016; Santana & Affe 2016)
The hydrological pattern of the southern coast of Bahia is divided into a dry season, between August and February, and rainy season, from March to July (Bittencourt et al 2000; Fischer et al 2007; Amorim et al 2011)
Summary
The phytoplankton community is the first link in the aquatic trophic chain (Reynolds 2006) and knowledge of its composition is an important tool for the ecological characterization of coastal ecosystems (Eskinazi-Leça et al 2004; Cloern &Jassby 2010); including the potential as indicator of anthropic impacts.The largest part of the Brazilian coast can be found in the Northeast. In the case of Bahia, which comprises the most extensive part of the Brazilian coast, little is known about phytoplankton communities; most published studies are concentrated in the Todos os Santos Bay (e.g., Peixinho et al 1980; Cowgill 1987; Mafalda Jr. et al 2003; Magalhães & Barbosa 2008) and Camamu Bay (i.e., Affe & Santana 2016; Santana & Affe 2016).
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