Temporal Variations of Diatom and Dinoflagellate Communities of Akyatan Lagoon (Karata？, Adana)

Lagoon areas are sensitive ecosystems that are highly affected by the physical and chemical environmental conditions of the surrounding area. In this study, temporal changes of diatom and dinoflagellate communities and some physicochemical parameters were investigated in Akyatan Lagoon, located in the Karata？ district of Adana. In this context, water samples were collected from 6 selected stations within the lagoon during April 2015-January 2016 period. Nutrient values such as nitrite+nitrate, phosphate and silicate showed considerable fluctuations in the lagoon, and due to the drainage canal and other terrestrial inputs, have reached quite high levels. When the seasonal distribution of diatom and dinoflagellate abundances in the lagoon was examined, the diatom abundances varied between 0.04x105 cells l-1 and 21.23x105 cells l-1 . The lowest diatom abundance was observed in January 2016 where the highest abundance was observed in October 2015. The dinoflagellate abundance in the lagoon varied between 0.28x105 cells l-1 and 80.55x105 cells l-1 . The lowest dinoflagellate abundance was detected in January 2016 and the highest abundance was detected in April 2015. Dinoflagellates were more abundant than the diatoms in the Akyatan Lagoon. It was deduced that the high levels of nutrients in the environment is influential on diatom and dinoflagellate abundance to reach very high levels