Dynamics of Microalgae Along the Coastal Areas of Sooyoung Bay, Busan, South Korea

Microalgae are one of the major, sustaining components of ecosystem processes and are responsible for biogeochemical reactions that drive our climate changes. Despite this, many marine microalgae are poorly described and little is known of their abundance and distribution along the coastal areas of Sooyoung Bay, Busan, South Korea. The present study has been conducted from November, 2011 to August, 2009 with the objective to provide an overview of the taxonomy diversity and abundance of microalgae along the coastal areas of the Sooyoung Bay. Water samples were collected from different sites, which were located by using a GPS tracker. Chlorophyll fluorescence of the water samples were measured by using ToxY-PAM dual-channel yield analyzer. The chlorophyll fluorescence values were relatively higher during the spring and summer and even in the region near to the sea port. Similarly the abundance of microalgae was higher near the port but diversity index had lower values. The temperature and pH values were same at all the sites. However, only the temperature varied during the sampling period, with higher values during summer and lower in winter. From the preliminary results, the following class of microalgae were found; Bacillariophyceae, Dinophyceae, Silicoflagellate and Cryptophyceae. With a future ongoing work, microalgae are being isolated to establish single cell culture and for identification using light microscopic observations, photography and molecular approaches.