| This paper describes the quantitative relationships between phytoplankton abundance and species number, dominance and niche breadth during ''bloom'' and ''non-bloom'' stages in a coastal marine environment of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Analysis of the relative frequency distribution of the species breadth per sample showed each assemblage to be a mixture of species with narrow (< 3), moderate (4-8) and broad (> 8) niche breadth. Assemblages with higher (> 30) numbers of species tended to have a greater proportion (up to 25-30 %) of species with narrow breadth in relation to the samples with fewer taxa. In ''bloom'' assemblages, the total cell abundance increased above the concentration level of ''non-bloom'' assemblages (baseline population)... |
