Spring Characteristics of Benthic Dinoflagellates in the East Coastal Beach of Xiamen Island

In this study, the species compositions and the temporal and spatial distribution of sand dwelling dinoflagellates in the intertidal zone of Huangcuo Beach, Xiamen Island, were investigated from March to May. It was revealed that the total cell density increased from early March to May, with a variation of 3 order of magnitudes in cell richness; Amphidinium britannicum and Adenoides eludens were two dominant species in the spring, however Gyrodinium viridescence and Peridinium quinquecorne might be abundant in the early summer; the cell density of dominant species inclined from the high tide zone to middle and low tide zone. Finally, the importance of sonification treatment in precise cell enumeration of nature samples was discussed. This is the first report of specialized benthic dinoflagellate study in China.