Prof. Dr. Adil Yakob Al-Handal gave a lecture entitled Phytoplankton, environment, distribution and importance.

The lecture dealt with a definition of phytoplankton and some of their important characteristics and the environments in which they distributed, as well as its importance in contributing to providing the earth with almost half of the oxygen requirements.

The lecture touched on two important types of phytoplankton, Diatoms and Pyrrophyta, as it showed the dominance of diatoms in the aquatic environment and their uniqueness in their distinctive shapes. On the other hand, Pyrrophyta it was distinguished by its production of some toxins that can cause harm to humans and aquatic organisms