The application of multivariate statistical methods to phytoplankton counts from the Hauraki Gulf,New Zealand

The phytoplankton population from a station in the Jellicoe Channel area of the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, was fairly constant, in terms of total population and species composition, throughout the year. Correspondence analysis enabled us to identify 3 groups of species. The largest of these comprised the core species which were present most of the time and included some, such as the coccolithophores, with a strongly seasonal occurrence. The species in the second group were mainly large centric diatoms and appeared for short periods during the winter months, apparently brought in by incursions of oceanic water. The third group of species occurred between April 1970 and October 1971 when there was a period of unusually warm weather: the winds were lighter and more often blowing onshore and this perhaps led to warmer, less nutrient‐rich surface waters being brought into the Gulf.