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Abstract:
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The influence of salinity on phytoplankton varies widely, because
different species have different salinity preferences. Like marine and
aquatic species, many phytoplankton species exhibit tolerance to certain
salinity, beyond which, it can inhibit their growth. Light is the most
important factor that influences phytoplankton growth. In aquatic
environments (lakes, sea or estuary) the light incident on the surface is rapidly reduced exponentially with depth (Krik, 1994). In estuaries, the
major factor influencing the light availability is the suspended particulate
matter, which attenuates and scatters the light. The light changes with time
of the day and the season, affecting the amount of light penetrating the
water column. Similarly, biological factor like copepod grazing is a major
factor influencing the standing crop of phytoplankton. The copepod can
actively graze up to 75% of the phytoplankton biomass in a tropical
estuary (Tan et. al., 2004). It is in the context that the present study
investigates the salinity, light (physical factors) and copepod grazing
(biological factor) phytoplankton as the factors controlling phytoplankton
growth and distribution |