Spatial distribution of surface chlorophyll a and micro-phytoplankton density and diversity around two islands and at two banks of the Mascarene region

The present study validated the use of AquaMODIS sea surface chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations and investigated the spatial variation in density and diversity of micro-phytoplankton around two islands and two fishing banks of the Mascarene region. The study included areas around Mauritius (MRU) and Rodrigues (ROD) Islands, at Nazareth (NZ) Bank, and in the Joint Management Area (JMA) between the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles, more specifically at the Saya de Malha (SM) Bank. The AquaMODIS data were based on 67 match-up data points of in-situ against satellite Chla concentrations. The micro-phytoplankton community structure was investigated by determining the density variation and using the Shannon Wiener (H’) and Evenness (Evar) diversity indices. The satellite and in-situ Chla data were significantly and positively correlated when pooled for the four sites studied (R2 = 0.441; r = 0.642, P < 0.01), and when analysed separately for islands (R2 = 0.480; r = 0.694), and banks (R2 = 0.233; r = 0.483). However, the Chla satellite values tended to be lower than the in-situ Chla data. The highest densities of micro-phytoplankton were observed in the eastern and northern regions for MRU and ROD, respectively. The most dominant genera of micro-phytoplankton were Coscinodiscus, Navicula, Chaetoceros and Ceratium. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index values for diatoms were all above 2.5 with waters around the islands having higher diversity compared to the banks. Overall, the different micro-phytoplankton around the islands, except for the group of cyanobacteria at ROD Island, were more evenly distributed (Evar > 0.6) compared to the banks. This study indicated that AquaMODIS Chla satellite data is valid and may be potentially used as a proxy for in-situ Chla concentration on the Mascarene Plateau. The results of this study also provide detailed insight into the spatial variation in micro-phytoplankton density and diversity on the Mascarene Plateau in the Western Indian Ocean. Further long-term studies are warranted to thoroughly understand the temporal (including seasonal and inter-annual) variations in Chla and micro-phytoplankton distribution for adequate and appropriate management of these ocean territories.