The population abundance, distribution pattern and culture studies of isolated microalgal strains from selective sampling sites along the south east coast of India

Abstract

The present study was conducted to understand the microalgal dynamics and surveillance in the selective sites along the south east coast of India. Algal isolation was carried out in 61 sampling stations characterized by different ecological features. In total 10 microalgal species were isolated under laboratory condition from the collected samples. The composition of microalgal distribution and their surveillance were related to the environmental factors are discussed in the present paper. From the results it was observed that

Isochrysis galbana [MA1] has the maximum surveillance at 37 spots [60.7%]. It was also observed that 25.7% of the collection spots may share same microalgal dynamics and surveillance. In order to understand the better background information about the importance of culture condition in the optimal growth of microalgal strains, experimental setup were designed using modified Walne’s and Guillard f/2 medium. Studies were also carried out to understand the relation between the growth conditions and environmental factors including salinity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. The growth study was further designed by providing the culture setup with 2 different light : dark illustration of 24:0 with 1000 lux setup and 16:8 with 1000 lux. The results show 70% of the isolated samples grown in Walne’s medium and 60% of samples grown on guillard’s f/2 medium prefer to grow optimally under 16:8 light: dark illustration. It was also observed that Walne’s medium encourages better growth for the collected microalgal samples when compared with the Guillard’s medium.