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Zooplankton samples collected every other week in upper and lower Narraganset Bay, Rhode Island, were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The seasonal occurrence and abundance of the various species identified and enumerated in the present study are presented in tabular form. Analysis of the relative abundance of the principal grazers in the zooplankton population (Acartia tonsa, A. clausi, and Oithona spp.) and of the dominant phytoplankton species, Skeletonema costatum, upon which these copepods are believed to graze preferentially, shows that the seasonal changes in phytoplankton abundance are to a considerable extent attributable to differential grazing pressures. Concentrations of plant nutrients (nitrate, phosphate, and silicate) were compared with zooplankton numbers. It is believed that the large summer‐fall zooplankton population contributes to the phosphate maximum and possibly indirectly to the nitrate maximum as well.
John H. Martin (Thu,) studied this question.