Studio della variabilità spaziale del fitoplancton nelle lagune di Lesina e Varano (Mar Adriatico).

Spatial distribution and taxonomy of the phytoplankton communities found in the Lesina and Varano lagoons during an annual monitoring (1997-1998) are discussed. Trends in cell abundance were seasonal; the annual average values were slightly higher in Lesina lagoon (3.4 x 106 cells l-1) than in Varano lagoon (2.6 x 106 cells l-1). From a qualitative point of view, phytoflagellates and diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community, but their dynamics were different in the two compared ecosystems. In the considered basins, the spatial distribution of the phytoplankton communities was associated to the hydrodynamic regime: it was rather homogeneous in both the lagoons and 'confinement' phenomena were not noted