FACTORS AFFECTING PLANKTON BLOOMS IN FALSE BAY

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Abstract
Organisms causing plankton blooms which produced visible discoloration of the sea in False Bay are recorded. Some environmental factors were studied in relation to blooms of the dinoflagellates Gonyaulax polygramma Stein and Noctiluca scintillans Macartney, and the coccolithophorid Gephyracapsa oceanica Kamptner. The factors that may cause these blooms to develop are discussed. Factors considered include: temperature, wind, light intensity, and upwelling. The importance of certain meteorological conditions in the development of these blooms is emphasized. Local upwelling of nutrient-rich water occurs in the north-eastern sector of the bay. A computer study of the local wind-induced upwelling at Gordon's Bay indicated that there was a high correlation between wind velocity and degree of upwelling as indicated by water temperature. The upwelled water corresponded in temperature and salinity to that normally found on the bottom of the bay. Serial correlation indicated a lag of about 30 hours in peak correlation of wind and resultant upwelling.

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