Samples were taken from the surface water at 5 stations (Figure 1) between May-August
2008, using Nansen bottles. The samples were subjected to Lugol’s iodine for phytoplankton
identification. Phytoplankton were counted with an inverted microscope according to Lund et al.
[22]. Phytoplankton species were identified through references including several comprehensive
reviews [23-32]. Phytoplankton functional groups have been employed to indicate environmental