Phytoplankton data collected in an impacted marine coastal area located in South Adriatic Sea from 2014 to 2017.

This dataset provides broad information on taxonomic and morphological (shape, linear dimensions, biovolume, cell abundance, cell size) structure of phytoplankton communities, in an impacted marine coastal area. The study was conducted in order to understand the role of anthropogenic pollution on phytoplankton community. For this reason, 3 different areas, along a pollution gradient, were considering. Data were collected at different spatial and temporal scales, in marine ecosystems, located in South Adriatic Sea, close to an industrial area and a marine protected area, in Brindisi, along Salento Peninsula (Puglia region, Italy).