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Observations on Dinoflagellate Blooms 1
Author(s) -
POMEROY LAWRENCE R.,
TIASKIN HAROLD H.,
RAGOTZKIE ROBERT A.
Publication year - 1956
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1956.1.1.0054
Subject(s) - dinoflagellate , bay , red tide , oceanography , environmental science , bloom , nutrient , algal bloom , phosphorus , phytoplankton , ecology , biology , chemistry , geology , organic chemistry
Dinoflagellate blooms were observed in Delaware Bay from 1952 to 1954 and in tidal creeks on Sapelo Island, Georgia, during 1955. In all cases the blooms were concentrated at the surface of the water. The organisms were positively phototactic and swam toward the light at 0.3 to 0.8 cm/sec. Because of their tendency to remain at the surface, the dinoflagellates were concentrated by weak convergences. One of the blooms was associated with unusual rainfall but the others occurred during dry weather. The concentrations of phosphorus found in the blooms could be accounted for on the basis of concentration mechanisms without postulating a special nutrient source, such as river flow. However, river flow may contribute other biologically important substances.