The researchers studied the phytoplankton community in Jinzhou Bay during spring and summer 2007. They found 38 genera and 59 species of phytoplankton, with diatoms being the most abundant. The average cell abundance was higher in summer than in spring. Different species dominated in each season. The distribution of phytoplankton abundance varied between the west and southeast areas in spring, and between the west and east areas in summer. Overall, the phytoplankton community structure was stable in Jinzhou Bay, as indicated by a high Shannon-Wiener index value.