Nida J.M. Al-Mousawi and Jihad M. Al-Zewar
Abstract
Coral reefs in Iraqi territorial waters are important and recent discoveries in the northwest of the Arabian Gulf. Fourteen samples were collected from five sites of these reefs from different levels of water column during the day and night. Exactly (46) taxa documented of phytoplankton suspended in the water column under (32) genus, of which (44) species belong to the Bacillariophyta, and only two species belong to the Dinoflagellate. The most common genera were Rhizosolenia and Cheataceros four species to both and Nitzschia three species. It was found that the species of higher frequency were Cheatocerosdidymus, Coscinodiscus radiates and Thalassiothrixnitzschodis, while species Achnanthes, Amphora, Rhopalodia and Epithemia were of fewer frequency.