Abstract
Tintinnids were collected from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, USA, from October 1987 to September 1988. Tintinnids were collected by screening 3 l of seawater with a 20 μm mesh. Eight stations throughout the bay were sampled at monthly or twice-monthly intervals. A total of 30 species of tintinnids were recorded, half of which were members of the genus Tintinnopsis. Tintinnid abundances ranged from 0 to 3.3 × 103 cells l−1. Tintinnids were least abundant at the Cape Cod Canal and in northern Buzzards Bay, and most abundant at the New Bedford sewage outfall. Unlike dinoflagellates, tintinnids did not show higher abundances in New Bedford Harbor than in the main part of the bay. The effect of screening tintinnid samples with a 20 μm mesh screen was examined by comparisons of abundance of tintinnids in screened and unscreened whole-water samples concentrated by gravitational sedimentation. Tintinnid abundance estimates were significantly higher in the screened samples.