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Abstract : |
Microalgae blooms are frequent and periodic throughout the year in La Ensenada de La Paz, a lagoon formed by a large sand bar enclosed at the southern end of the BahØ£Âa de La Paz in the southwestern Gulf of California. Brown patches of the dinoflagellate Peridinium quinquecorne Abأ©, an armored dinoflagellate that is cosmopolitan in neritic and estuarine waters, were observed in July 2003 near a beach at the mouth of the lagoon. The patches were about 50-100 m long by 10-15 m wide and persisted for two days when water temperature was 26.2 to 27 آ°C. The blooms occurred after four days of a heavy rain. Abundance of P. quinquecorne varied from 3.4 to 6.4 أ— 106 cells l-1 and chlorophyll a varied from 13.20 to 17.75 mg m-3. Concentrations of nutrients in this area were higher than normal, related to a continuous re-suspension of sediment caused by wave action. The higher nutrient content promoted formation of patches of P. quinquecorne in this part of the lagoon., |
