STRUCTURE AND DIVERSITY OF PHYTOPLANKTON COMMUNITY IN THE WATER OF A SAHARAN WETLAND’S: CASE OF OUED RIGH, ALGERIA (LELLA FATMA AND ZERZAIM PONDS)

Abstract

Phytoplankton is a very important part of the ecosystem and is extremely susceptible to environmental variations. Understanding and evaluating the effects of environmental changes on planktonic populations is central to freshwater ecology. In order to explore the phytoplankton diversity and abundance of two ponds in the arid region of  Megarine (Lella Fatma and Zerzaim) District, Oued Righ, Algeria, we collected phytoplanktonic samples during the period January-December 2016. The results showed that the ponds harbored a total of 58 species of phytoplankton. Lella Fatma had 55 species and Zerzaim had 56 species. These species belonged to three phyla (Bacillariophyta, Euglenophyta, Cyanobacteria) and 5 classes, and included 23 species of Cyanophyceae and 21 species of Bacillariophyceae. The latter was the most abundant class of phytoplankton community. The study reveals that the distribution equipoise in the Megarine region is balanced with equity of 0.89 in Lella Fatma and 0.92 in Zerzaim. The autumn season is the best period for phytoplankton in Megarine 2016.