A checklist of phytoplankton species in the Faafu atoll (Republic of Maldives)

1 - Phytoplankton is considered as a natural bioindicator of water quality because of its sensitivity and its complex and rapid response to change of environmental conditions.
2 - The aim of this study was to investigate and provide important new information about the checklist of phytoplankton species in different lagoons of the Faafu atoll in Maldivian archipelago.
3 - A total of 140 phytoplankton taxa were identified. In terms of species richness, dinoflagellates were the largest group with 55 identified taxa belonging to 22 genera. Coscinodiscophyceae recorded 38 taxa belonging to 14 genera; Bacillariophyceae represented by 18 taxa belonging to 10 genera and Fragilariophyceae recorded 11 taxa belonging to 8 genera. Most of the other classes were poorly represented with only one or , at most, two taxa for each genus.