In my study, i am studying coastal freshwater man made wetland which has abundance of Cocconeis sp. plankton, though it is difficult to identify species. do cocconeis genera had some ecological significance ?
Cocconeis is a diatom. They can be nourishment for zooplankton and benthos. Diatoms are considered relatively nutritious and beneficial in plankton. Unlike, for example, cyanobacteria. They also have the ability to take up extra nutrients such as phosphorus, and store it in the cells.
Why wouldn't it have "ecological significance"? Every species has its niche. In fact your next project should be this I mean finding its importance in the ecosystem.
Cocconeis is known to occur in both freshwater and marine habitats, so it is very important to ID it to the species level to understand, or begin describing the ecology of that taxon. I recommend digesting and mounting specimens in Naphrax. If you are not familiar with that process, it is possible to outsource it to other labs such as the one where I work. You need clean specimens mounted in a medium with a high RI to resolve key distinguishing features. This genus is not really planktonic, but could be considered tychoplanktonic. They are really benthic taxa that often have a preference for a specific substrate, and can even have unique interspecific relationships with other algae i.e Cocconeis pediculus & Cladophora. Your species likely has a preference for a particular substrate, and if it does not, that is a perfectly valid and publishable conclusion. You may be capturing specimens attached to sand grains in that are suspended in the water column, resulting in an abundance of benthic taxa in planktonic samples. As mentioned by Arne Andersen, they are excellent food for zooplankton and benthic invertebrates. They are also important in nutrient and carbon cycling. If you really had a mind to you could estimate their biomass, estimate metabolic rate and make an educated statement regarding the amount of carbon fixed by that species in that habitat over the course of a year. One last thing, algae doesn't smell like fish, fish smell like algae. The importance of these organisms in the environment really cannot be overstated.
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