Effects of a coastal power plant thermal discharge on phytoplankton community structure in Zhanjiang Bay, China

The effects of a thermal discharge from a coastal power plant on phytoplankton were determined in Zhanjiang Bay. Monthly cruises were undertaken at four tide times during April–October 2011. There were significant differences for dominant species among seven sampling months and four sampling tides. Species diversity (H′) and Evenness showed a distinct increasing gradient from the heated water source to the control zone and fluctuated during four tides with no visible patterns. Species richness, cell count and Chl a at mixed and control zones were significantly higher than heated zones, and showed tidal changes with no obvious patterns. The threshold temperature of phytoplankton species can be regarded as that of phytoplankton community at ebb slack. The average threshold temperature over phytoplankton species, cell count and Chl a, and the threshold temperature of cell count can be regarded as that of phytoplankton community at flood slack during spring and neap respectively.