used. The technique was as fol- 

 lows : 



1. After the samples had been con- 

 centrated, three to six 1 -milliliter 

 aliquots were pipetted from the area 

 just beneath the surface of the water 

 sample and each was deposited in the 

 depression of a 3-depression micro- 

 plate. Only one aliquot was taken during 

 the blooms of G. breve when high con- 

 centrations of the organism visibly- 

 discolored the water sample. If no 

 G. breve were found in these aliquots, 

 the water sample was assumed to con- 

 tain no G. breve, and the count was 

 recorded as none (0). The symbol "P" 

 is used to indicate the presence of the 

 organism in the concentrated sample. 



2. If G. breve were observed in the 

 initial concentrated aliquots, the flask 

 was inverted several times to re- 

 distribute the organisms throughout 

 the sample of water in preparation for 

 the mixed count. The counting technique 

 assumes that after several inversions 

 of the flask G. breve are randomly dis- 

 tributed. Then, depending on the num- 

 bers of G. breve per milliliter in the 

 examination of the concentrated sam- 

 ples; i.e., 1-99, 100-1000, or more 

 than 1000, aliquots of 1.0, 0.1, or 0.01 

 milliliter were pipetted from within the 

 flask to a depression in a 3 -depression 

 micro-plate. The number of aliquots 

 used in determining the mixed count 

 was standardized at 5 or 10. Five 

 aliquots were used during bloom 

 periods of G. breve; 10 during non- 

 bloom periods. The number of G. breve 

 observed per milliliter or fraction 

 thereof was then recorded for each 

 aliquot. The arithmetic mean number 

 of G. breve for all aliquots was shown 

 as number per milliliter. When no 

 organisms were present in the mixed 

 sample, was recorded. All counts 

 were of living organisms. 



Chemical analysis 



Salinities were determined by the 

 Mohr-Knudsen method (Knudsen, 1901). 

 Nitrate -nitrite nitrogen determinations 

 were made by the method of Zwicker 

 and Robinson (1944) as modified by 

 Marvin (1955b). 



The method of Robinson and Thomp- 

 son (1948) was used to determine 

 amounts of inorganic phosphates, and 

 the method of Harvey (1948) was used 

 in total phosphorus determinations. 

 Copper determinations were by the 

 analytical method of Hoste, Eeckhout, 

 and Gillis (1953). 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 



We are pleased to acknowledge the 

 guidance and numerous suggestions of 

 William B. Wilson, Chief of Red Tide 

 Investigations for the Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries. Dr. M. W. Jambor 

 assisted in the enumeration of G. breve; 

 J. A. Kelly, Jr. aided in the tabulation 

 of data; and Lucius Johnson assisted 

 in most of the chemical analyses. 



The Florida State Board of Conser- 

 vation, especially Ernest Mitts, Direc- 

 tor; Robert M. Ingle, and Dr.RobertF. 

 Hutton, cooperated in numerous in- 

 stances by supplying patrol vessels, 

 crews, and other facilities. 



The authors are indebted to all par- 

 ticipants of the Red Tide Symposium 

 held on March 5-7, 1958, in Galveston, 

 Texas for their assistance in review of 

 past red tide research. 



LITERATURE CITED 



BEIN, SELWYN JACK. 



1957. The relationship of total phos- 

 phorus concentration in sea 

 water to red tide blooms. Bulle- 

 tin of Marine Science of the Gulf 

 and Caribbean, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 

 316-329. 



FINUCANE, JOHN H., and ALEXANDER 



DRAGOVICH. 



1959. Counts of red tide organisms, 

 Gymnodinium breve, and asso- 

 ciated oceanographic data from 

 Florida west coast, 1954-57. 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 Special Scientific Report- - 

 Fisheries No. 289, 220 pp. 



