Table 1. — Mean concentrations of chlorophyll "a," iron, 

 and inorganic phosphate-phosphorus in Florida west 

 coast tributaries and adjacent bays and neritic waters of 

 the Gulf of Mexico, January 1964 to January 1966 

 |S=surface; B=bottoml 



Table 2. — Reported concentrations of chlorophyll "a" in 

 coastal and marine areas of the Atlantic Ocean and the 

 Gulf of Mexico 



' This value was observed in the midst of bloom of Oymmdinium brece. 



where P is the productivity rate in ojranis of carbon 

 per square meter per daj% R is the radiation 

 factor found from the <rraphs of Ryther and 

 Yentscii (1957), K is tlie extinction coefficient 

 of the water, and C is grams of chlorophyll "a" 

 I)er cubic meter. Because the derived carbon 



«; 111 



• ..J 



]jg t»«»l(ItlP 



I,,,., tll..l|l,M-- 



a a n a n a n n a o 



.J[iaaiC3iClLli™c«Cl I I 



100 , '••'t'-i",' 



d . 



cm am ca cm !=■ _ 



d a a- ™ .- ._ 



III. 



c a [i J ^ ri 



JFtliKJIASOKIII 

 I9E4 SS 



Figure 6. — River discharge, precipitalion, aiiei hydro- 

 logical properties at station 5, Myakka River, Fla., 

 January 1964 to January 1965. (Open bars = surface; 

 solid bars = bottom.) 



quantities are based primarily on chlorophyll 

 values, their relative values and temporal and 

 areal distribution resemble those of chlorophyll 

 "a." The mean approximations of organic i)ro- 

 duction exceed the analogous values (0.27 g. per 

 square meter |)er day) from East Ivagoon, Tex. 

 (table 2). 



The rivers contributed a substantial (juantity 

 of organic matter to the adjacent sea (table 3). 

 Included are endocrine products liberated in the 

 process of chlorophyll synthesis (Provasoli, 1958). 

 The fate of these metabolites is not known, but 

 they may have a bearing on the genesis of jjhyto- 

 |)lankton blooms and j)articularly of Florida red 

 tide, if only a fraction reaches the bays and the 

 adjacent sea. From the chlorophyll data and the 

 river discharges, it may be deduced that (|uanli- 

 tatively more metabolites reach the bays and 

 adjacent sea during heavy rainfall than in periods 

 of light rainfall. 



468 



U..S. FISH AND WILDLIFK SERVICF> 



