Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in different areas of the Western Mediterranean Sea

"In the last decades, notable efforts have been dedicated to the deepening in the knowledge of the benthic phases of life cycles of dinoflagellate. In fact, studies on dinoflagellate cysts in the sediments are useful tools to integrate the information from the routine monitoring of the water column, at least for the presence of species that produce cysts. The sediment can be an excellent register for information on phytoplankton diversity in both time and space, and can allow the observation of species rarely or not detected in the water column. This type of study increases also the possibility to detect harmful species and may permit the evaluation of their potential proliferations.. This study reports data on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages observed in different types of coastal marine ecosystems of the Western Mediterranean Sea, i.e. harbours, enclosed bays and lagoons. The studied areas were Arenys de Mar harbour and the Ebre Delta Bays along Catalan coast (Spain), and two lagoons along western coast of Sardinia (Italy). Samplings were carried out from 2006 to 2010. Morphotypes were determined at species level when possible. Cyst assemblages showed high diversity at each sites. There were notable differences among morphotype compositions in the sites even if a number of morphotypes was common (e.g., Scrippsiella species). Some harmful species were detected and also species not recorded before in the water column in the respective sites. The presence of morphotypes not yet reported in literature was observed, some of them corresponding to new species.. "