Diatoms diversity and abundance in Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf, Bushehr area

A survey on diatoms diversity and abundance conducted in Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf around Bushehr area in 2004. We used six transects each comprising three sampling stations and sampled diatoms seasonally and found that total diatoms diversity was 97 species and the class Bacillariophyceae was the most diverse and abundant community. The highest diversity in winter with 63 species and the lowest in summer with eight species were observed. We also found the highest abundance of the diatoms in autumn with 627067 cells per cubic meter and the lowest in summer with 345139 cells per cubic meter. Totally, diatoms with an average density of 475336 cells per cubic meter comprised 33.7% of the phytoplankton community.
Diatoms had a higher density in lower layers of the water column compared to the middle and upper layers. However, a one-way ANOVA did not show a significant difference in diatoms density in different layers of the water column. Using ANOVA, we showed that diatoms density in different seasons were significantly different.