Distribution and community structure of microphytoplankton in relation to increasing anthropogenic impact along coastal waters of Jeddah, the central Red Sea

Seasonal distribution and diversity of surface phytoplankton have been studied in relation to anthropogenic activities at seven locations along the coastal waters of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2017. The concentration of nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, phosphate and silicate varied over wide ranges: 0.04–20.27, 0.05–29.3, 0.22–78.16, 0.02–25.90 and 43–24.50 μmol l⁻¹, respectively. Inorganic nutrients, phytoplankton biomass and density were at eutrophic levels at two lagoon locations (4 and 5), while other coastal locations showed oligotrophic characteristics of the Red Sea. Phytoplankton biomass was positively correlated with all measured inorganic nutrients. The total phytoplankton density varied between 52.4 × 10³ and 40800 × 10³ cells m⁻³ (average 6249.9×10³ ± 10797×10³ cells m⁻³). A total of 174 species of phytoplankton (95 diatoms, 75 dinoflagellates, 3 cyanophytes and 1 silicoflagellates) were recorded in this study, with the dominance of diatoms (95.1%). Higher densities observed at lagoon locations were mainly due to the proliferation of the diatom species Skeletonema costatum and Chaetoceros decipiens. In terms of diversity, dinoflagellates were more numerous than diatoms in July, otherwise mostly diatoms dominated. On the other hand, cyanophytes were more abundant in November. Based on the present study, anthropogenic activities (especially sewage effluent) in Jeddah coastal waters had a significant impact on the phytoplankton densities and diversity.