2-liter Erlenmeyer flasks previously 

 rinsed with a portion of sample water, 

 and examined within 24 hours after 

 collection. 



The counting technique for 

 Gymnodiniiim breve and preparation of 

 the samples for the estimation of rela- 

 tive abundance of other organisms 

 were those described by Finucane and 

 Dragovich (1959). Abundance estimates 

 of microorganisms other than G. breve 

 were made as follows: three 1 -ml. por- 

 tions of the sample were pipetted from 

 just beneath the surface of the water 

 and placed on a 3 -depression slide. 

 After microscopic examination of the 

 three aliquots, the abundance of phyto- 

 plankton forms was recorded in terms 

 of three categories: + = 1-24 cells per 

 ml.; ++ = 25-99 cells per ml.; and 

 +++ = 100 or more cells per ml. The 

 same procedure was ennployed for 

 zooplankton estimates, using these cat- 

 egories: x= 1-9 organisms per ml.; 

 XX = 10-49 organisms per ml.; and 

 XXX = 50-100 organisms per ml. 



The following physical and chemi- 

 cal methods were employed: 



Water temperature: determined 

 with mercury thermometer calibrated 

 to the nearest 10th of a degree centi- 

 grade. 



Salinity: determined by Mohr- 

 Knudsen nnethod (Knudsen, 1901). 



Nitrate-nitrite nitrogen : deter- 

 mined by the method of Zwicker and 

 Robinson (1944) as modified by Marvin 

 (1955b). 



Inorganic phosphorus : determined 

 according to the Robinson and Thonnp- 

 son (1948) method. 



Total phosphorus : determined by 

 the method of Harvey (1948). 



Carbohydrates : determined by the 

 method of Erdman and Little (1950) 

 as modified by Zein-Eldin and May 



(1958). 



Protein : determined by the method 

 of Wangersky (Collier, 1958) as modi- 

 fied by Marvin et al., I960. 



LITERATURE CITED 



CLEVE, P. T. 



1900. The seasonal distribution of 

 Atlantic plankton organisms. 

 Goteborgs Kungliga Vetenskaps - 

 och VitterhetsSannhalles Hand- 

 lingar, vol. 17, 36 p. 



COLLIER, ALBERT. 



1958. Gulf of Mexico physical and 

 chemical data from Alaska 

 cruises. U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Special Scientific Re- 

 port- -F i s h e r i e s No. 249, 

 417 p. 



DAVIS, CHARLES C. 



1948. Gymnodinium brevis sp. nov., 

 a cause of discolored water 

 and animal mortality in the Gulf 

 of Mexico. Botanical Gazette, 

 vol. 109, no. 3, p. 358-360. 



1950. Observations on plankton 

 taken in marine waters of 

 Florida in 1947 and 1948. Quar- 

 terly Journal Florida Academy 

 of Sciences, vol. 12, no. 2, 

 p. 67-103. 



DAVIS, CHARLES C, and ROBERT 



H. WILLIAMS. 



1950. Brackish water plankton of 



mangrove areas in southern 



Florida. Ecology, vol. 31, no. 4, 



p. 519-531. 



DRAGOVICH, ALEXANDER, JOHN H. 

 FINUCANE, and BILLIE Z. MAY. 

 1961. Counts of red tide organisms, 

 Gymnodinium breve, and as- 

 sociated oceanographic data 

 from Florida west coast, 1957- 

 59. U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Special Scientific Re- 

 port- -Fisheries No. 369, 175 p. 



ERDMAN, J. G., and A. B. LITTLE. 

 1950. Analysis of marine coastal 

 and estuarial waters. (Multiple 

 fellowship of Gulf Research and 

 Development Co. at Mellon In- 

 stitute, Pittsburg) unpublished, 

 50 pp. 



