Study on abundance and diversity species of phytoplankton with emphasis on potential of algal bloom in the southern part of the Caspian Sea-Mazandaran Provience

This study was conducted to determine of phytoplankton abundance and diversity of water and their spatial and temporal fluctuations in the Mazandaran coastal of Caspian Sea in 6 months, at 4 transects (Tonekabon, Nowshahr, Babolsar, Amirabad) during different season of 2012-2013. 72 samples were collected at surface layer of water in 5, 15 and 30m depths. The sampls were analyzed based on the standard methods. 112 species contributed in phytoplankton community structure which where classified in 9 phyla namly: Bacillariophyta (42 species), Pyrrophyta (18 species), Cyanophyta (14 species), Chlorophyta (15 species), Euglenophyta (11 species), Cryptophyta (2 species), Chrysophyta (3 species), Haptophyta (1 species) and Xantophyta (1 species). Meanwhile small flagellate algae with Maximum Linear Dimension (MLD)