QUANTITATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF HETEROTROPHIC DINOFLAGELLATES TO THE TOTAL MICROZOOPLANKTON ABUNDANCE DURING SPRING IN USHUAIA BAY (BEAGLE CHANNEL, ARGENTINA)

LÓPEZ ABBATE, M. C., BARRÍA DE CAO, M. S. Y HOFFMEYER, M. S.

Bahía Blanca

Simposio; Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association, Science and Management of Estuaries and Coasts: A tale of two hemispheres (ECSA 44); 2008

Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO)

Heterotrophic dinoflagellates are usually an important portion of the microzooplankton, however, they are rarely quantified. Studies about this group have not been recorded in Ushuaia Bay. The main objective of this study is to describe the quantitative importance of heterotrophic dinoflagellates in the microzooplankton community during spring in this bay. Plankton samples were taken during November 2006 in two sampling stations, one within the harbor zone (inner) with a high antropogenic pressure, and the other in the bay mouth (outer), free of pollution. Values of particulate organic matter, ammonium and total chlorophyll “a” did not show significant variation between stations. In contrast, differences in chlorophyll “a”