Use of phytoplankton assemblages to assess the quality of coastal waters of a transitional ecosystem: Río de la Plata estuary

The use of a reduced group of species constitutes a potential tool for monitoring, complementing another common indicators such as chlorophyll a or the total density of phytoplankton. Considering that most of these tolerant species are widely distributed it is possible to employ them as a biomonitor in other freshwater zones of temperate estuaries.