IMIS

These dataset has 144 observations and describes 143 species of phytoplankton from Frobisher Bay in the Arctic region of Canada. Phytoplankton were collected and environmental measurements made at depths of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20 and 30 m at 3 h intervals through a tidal cycle in the summer in Frobisher Bay. Light, temperature, salinity and nutrients varied vertically. Concentration of chlorophyll a, species composition, number of species and diversity also exhibited a pronounced vertical variation, while phytoplankton cell numbers and the evenness of the species distribution was uniform through the water column. Phytoplankton biomass and composition changed considerably with time. However, diet variations in species diversity and evenness were minor under the existing environmental conditions, where only light fluctuated significantly. The integrated values of biomass, nutrients and mean temperature and salinity showed neither significant diel nor tidal variations.