Bhutia, R.NAbhilashwodeyar, K.Devadas, D.Mandal, U.K.Sreekanth, G.B.Landge, A.T.Jaiswar, A.K.Deshmukhe, G.Burman, D.2025-05-122025-05-122024-12Bhutia R.N, Abhilashwodeyar K., Devadas D., Mandal U.K., Sreekanth G.B., Landge A.T., Jaiswar A.K., Deshmukhe G., Burman D. . Dynamics of phytoplankton community in relation to environmental variables in tropical mangrove estuary, Sundarbans, India. Journal of Environmental Biology. 2024 Dec; 45(6): 654-6650254-87042394-0379https://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/247540Aim: To explore the spatio-temporal variation of phytoplankton diversity and community structure, in response to associated environmental variables in Matla estuary, Sundarbans, India. Methodology: Monthly sampling was carried out from August 2022 to July 2023 at three locations within the estuary. Plankton was identified and its dynamics were studied in relation to the environment variables. Results: A total of 38 genera of phytoplankton, belonging to 8 classes, were identified. Spatial diversity was high in the upper reaches of the estuary, while temporal diversity peaked during the monsoon season. The majority of the abundance (96%) was contributed by four classes: Coscinodiscophyceae (35%), Mediophyceae (27%), Bacillariophyceae (25%) and Dinophyceae (9%). Bacillariophyceae exhibited higher species richness, while Coscinodiscophyceae dominated in terms of density. Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed four separate groups with varying spatio-temporal attributes. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) post-hoc tests highlighted significant variations in environmental parameters across seasons. Various phytoplankton groups were positively correlated with the physio-chemical parameters such as temperature, alkalinity, free CO , NO , NO , silicate, temperature, orthophosphate and chlorophyll-a.2 3 2 Biota-environment stepwise analysis (BIO-ENV) underscored the importance of air temperature and free CO (?= 0.4929) as key factors shaping phytoplankton2 distribution and community structure. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) further showed the significant influence of parameters such as temperature, silicate, nitrite and orthophosphate on the phytoplankton community. Interpretation: Finding of this study enriches our comprehension of estuarine ecosystem dynamics, and this information may serve as a baseline study and thereby aid in framing management measures for long-term conservation and management of both biotic and abiotic components within estuaries.Environmental variablesEstuaryMangrovePhytoplanktonSundarbansJournal ArticleIndiaICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Canning Town-743 329, IndiaICAR- Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai-400 061, IndiaICAR- Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai-400 061, IndiaICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Canning Town-743 329, IndiaICAR- Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Goa-403 402, IndiaICAR- Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai-400 061, IndiaICAR- Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai-400 061, IndiaICAR- Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai-400 061, IndiaICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Canning Town-743 329, India