TITLE:
Variations in the Physicochemical Water Parameters and Phytoplankton Community in Coastal Water of Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia
AUTHORS:
Mezzy Rynee Romin, Sujjat Al Azad, Ejria Saleh
KEYWORDS:
Physicochemical Water Parameters, Phytoplankton, Coastal Water, Temporal and Spatial
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.9 No.7,
July
22,
2021
ABSTRACT: This
study was conducted to observe the abundance and distribution of phy-toplankton and temporal and spatial variation
physico-chemical water parameters in coastal water of Kudat, Sabah,
Malaysia. Water samples and in-situ water quality parameters were taken from
five selected locations from May 2019 to February 2020. The sampling location was
selected based on human-induced activities such as Marina Resort’s Jetty (ST1),
Sabah Ports’ Jetty (ST2), aquaculture cage/pent
(ST3), river’s mouth (ST4) and Landung Ayang’s water village (ST5).
Water parameters: pH, salinity (ppt), dissolved oxygen (mg/L) temperature (°C)
and depth (m) were recorded once every month from the selected
station. Identification of phytoplanktonic species and cell density (cell/mL) were determined from collected water
samples. Significant
differences (p p °C) observed. A total of 21 phytoplankton species were identified from the study
area, where 4 species belonged to Dinophyceae (HABs blooming species) and 17
species belonged to Bacillariophyceae. The influences of physicochemical water
parameters were not significant in phytoplankton diversity and abundance. In
addition to these parameters, the nutrients in the water might have important roles
in the blooming of phytoplankton, which are essential and vital to address in
this type of research.