Monitoring of Phytoplankton and Hydrochemical Parameters of Coastal Waters of Russky Island (Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan)

This paper presents the results of the study of the species composition and seasonal dynamics of the qualitative characteristics of phytoplankton in Paris and Zhitkov bays of Russky Island in relation to the hydrochemical structure of waters. The composition of dominant species differed between the bays. The occurrence of Bacillariophyceae was recorded; Cyclotella atomus var. gracilis was for the first time identified in marine waters. Thalassiosira lundiana is the first record for the northwestern Sea of Japan. Minidiscus comicus occurred as the dominant species of phytoplankton in the seas of Russia for the first time. The use of electron microscopy for identification of dominant species showed that the mass development of members of Thalassiosira was more often caused by a complex of species. The general trend of the seasonal variations of environmental parameters and nutrients in the studied bays mostly coincided with the features of the dynamics of quantitative parameters of microalgae.