Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Picoplankton/Phytoplankton Dynamics In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Leslie E. Dorworth

OES Theses and Dissertations

The biomass distribution of the three main size components of the phytoplankton (net, nano, and picoplankton) was examined in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Work was done at two stations during the spring and neap tidal cycles when freshwater flow into the bay was at its seasonal minimum and maximum. Emphasis was placed on how the picoplankton ( < 2.0 μm, > 0.2 μm) reacted during the sampling period.

Picoplankton made up approximately 13% of the total biomass, during the observed time period, at the more oceanic station. The picoplankton fraction contributed up to 16% of the total biomass at the estuarine station. From this …