Things are still pretty slow in the Inner Bay this week. Tintinnids were abundant in the sample from Halibut Cove. Tintinnids are microzooplankton that feed on phytoplankton and bacteria and are an important food source for copepods and larval fishes! The Outer Bay samples were dominated by mixed diatoms. We had our first sighting of Alexandrium sp. in the samples from Port Graham on May 31st. Seeing this species does not necessarily mean that shellfish are accumulating saxitoxins, which can lead to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, in their tissue. As always – please reach out if you have any questions.
For more information on this Phytoplankton Update and the Qualitative Analysis of Phytoplankton Data, click here.