Include reference

"The present investigation deals with plankton dynamics of three stations of the Tuticorin coastal waters namely a sewage polluted water (St. II), a diesel-oil polluted fishing harbour (St. I) and unpolluted nearshore water (St. III). Fortnightly samplings were made for a total period of 6 months (January to June 1993). The physico-chemical parameters such as depth, transparency (k), temperature, salinity, pH, suspended solids, hydrogen sulphide, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nutrients such as nitrite, nitrate, hosphate were estimated and are ranged from 1.5 to 3.0 m, 2.0 to 4.7.28.0� to 30.9�C. 33.2 to 39.0%. 8.1 to 8.4, 133 to 387 mg/l, 0 to 6.0 mg/l, 1.0 to 3.5 ml/l, 4.50 to 15.00 �g.at/l, 0.53 to 5.57 �g.at/l, 2.00 to 26.05 �g.at/l and 0.37 to 1.04 �g.at/l at polluted atations (St. I and St. II), 3 to 3.5 m, 1.1 to 1.3. 29.0 to 30.8�C, 37.6 to 38.8%, 8.2 to 8.3, 113 to 123 mg/l, 0, 3.8 to 4.2 ml/l, 0.8 to 2.6 �g.at/l, 0.002 to 0.340 �g.at/l, 2.79 to 7.17 �g.at/l and 0.09 to 0.54 �g.at/l at unpolluted nearshore waters (St. III) respectively. The values of chlorophyll 'a' content ranged from 0.69 to 1.33 �g.at/l at St. I, 1.65 to 1.73 �g.at/l at St. II and from 0.110 to 0.113 �g.at/l at St. III. The nannoplankton density ranged from 6.400 to 28.987 cells/l, 132, 880 to 4, 52, 120 cells/l, 1,178 to 490 cells/l at St. I, St. II and St. III respectively. The total number of phytoplankton and zooplankton species recorded at St. I, St. II and St. III were 16, 24 and 38 and 25, 25 and 30 respectively. The values of species diversity index ranged from 0.93 to 2.32, 1.04 to 2.88 and 2.03 to 3.99 at St. I, St. II and St. III respectively. The density of phytoplankton and zooplankton in terms of counts ranged between 1 and 356 cells/l, 18 and 336 organisms/l at St. I, 2 and 2893 cells/l, 30 and 167 organisms/l at St. II and 42 and 189 cells/l and 16 and 25 organisms/l at St. III respectively. The biomass of zooplankton in terms of dry weight was found varying between 20.10 and 517.70 �g/l, 36.40 and 230.10 �g/l and 26.00 and 54.12 �g/l at St. I, St. II and St. III respectively. The abundance of phytoplankton species such as Trichodesmium thiebautii, Streptotheca indica, Bellerochea malleus, Coscinodicus eccentricus, C. gigas, Hemidiscus hardmannianus, Thalassiothrix frauenfeldii, Pleurosigma angulatum, P. elongatum, Nitzschia sigma, Peridinium depressum and Ceratium trichoceros and zooplankton species such as Favella philippinensis, Tintinnopsis bermudensis, T. butschlii, T. tocantinensis, T. cylindrical and T. tubulosa, Acartia danae, Oithona brevicornis, Nannocalanus minor, Acrocalanus gracilis and Scolecithrix danae were recorded in the polluted waters (St. I and St. II) could serve as indicators of such polluted system."