Phytoplankton distribution in a frontal region of Tokyo Bay,Japan in November 1985

Phytoplankton distribution in a frontal region of Tokyo Bay was investigated in relation to hydrography in November 1985. The frontal region was observed from the central to the mouth area of the bay and consisted of a series of fine scale discontinuities of salinity and temperature. Among them the Kenzaki offshore front (KOF) and the Yokosuka inshore front (YIF) were most prominent in terms of the duration and the magnitudes of the hydrographic gaps. Three major phytoplankton assemblages were observed: (A) neritic and offshore diatoms in the mouth area of Tokyo Bay, (B) a diatomLeptocylindrus danicus and dinoflagellates in the central area, and (C) bloom forming cryptophyceans, dinoflagellates andL. danicus from the inner Tokyo Bay. The KOF was an approximate boundary of the outside assemblage (A) and the intermediate population (B), and the YIF was that of (B) and the inner bay population (C). Species changes across the fronts were rather gradual in the KOF making a strong contrast to distinct jumps in temperature, salinity,in vivo chlorophyll fluorescence and nitrate plus nitrite. An outward surface flow of the inside population along the western coast off Yokosuka was detected.