The occurrence of algal blooms in Omani coastal waters

Abstract

Monthly sampling of phytoplankton, chlorophyll a, temperature, salinity and nutrients was carried out in the Sea of Oman and in the Arabian Sea, from 2004 and onwards. In addition to time series data, historical data from 1976 to 2003 were collected from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Wealth reports. Annual averages of algal blooms occurrence along the coast of Oman showed three major components of seasonal and interannual fluctuations- the seasonal cycle, interannual fluctuations with approximate period of 8 years, and the interannual rising tendency. The dominant algal blooms species comprise both diatoms and dinoflagellates, with obvious dominance of Noctiluca scintillans followed by Cochlodinium polykrikoides and Prorocentrum sp.

Keywords:

• oceanography
• Oman coast
• Sea of Oman

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by research grants from Sultan Qaboos University, Agricultural and Fisheries Development Fund, and the Research Council (IG/AGR/FISH/07/01, IG/AGR/FISH/09/01, IG/AGR/FISH/10/01, and ORG/EBR/09/004).We are grateful to technical support from the department of Marine Sciences and Fisheries and the crew of R/V “Al-Jamiah.”