Phytoplankton composition and water quality of Kamil Abduş Lagoon (Tuzla Lake), Istanbul-Turkey

Abstract

In the present study, the water quality and pollution status of Kamil Abduş Lagoon (Tuzla Lake), which is located in Istanbul Metropolitan area, were investigated by determining the phytoplankton composition, some physicochemical parameters, and nutrient concentrations. Water samples were collected at 3 sampling sites between February 2016 and January 2017 on a monthly basis. A total of 32 taxa, belonging to Bacillariophyta (12), Charophyta (1), Chlorophyta (4), Cryptophyta (1), Cyanobacteria (5), Euglenozoa (5) and Miozoa (4) divisions were identified. Both freshwater and marine species were recorded in the study area. The presence of mesotrophic and eutrophic species of phytoplankton, high concentrations of chlorophyll-a and nutrients indicated that the trophic level of the lake is near to eutrophic. Water quality parameters studied in the current research were investigated to evaluate the input data significance using Artificial Neural Network analysis, specifically to ensure the limitation of regression analysis overfitting. Due to the fact that the lagoon is under threat by pollution it needs to be urgently protected. Therefore, detailed studies on phytoplankton including physicochemical parameters and nutrients have to be carried out in order to select appropriate management routes for improving the water quality in the lagoon.