El Canal de Ballenas, Baja California, como ambiente favorable para el desarrollo del fitoplancton

Abstract

Phytoplankton camples were taken in the Ballenas and Salsipuedes Channels in the northern-central part of the Gulf of California. Twenty-six diatom specles in 15 genera were identified in the channels, with dominance of the species Thalassionema frauenfeldii (Grunow) Tempére and Peragallo 1910 ex-Hallegraeff 1986; as well as 13 dinoflagellate genera and two silicoflagellates. Most of these organisms were included in the water masses named Gulf of California Water (GCW) and Subsurface Subtropical Water (SsStW). The quali-quantitative diatom analyses did not show significant differences between stations of the Ballenas Channel; contrary to dinoflagellates which showed differences between the stations in answer to stability of the water column. The inverse relationship between nutrients and diatom abundance, was mainly due to the instability of the water column since phytoplankton needs areas with less mixing energy for light conditioning. In conclusion, Ballenas Channel showed to be a dynamic zone that provides the necessary nutrients for phytoplankton growth.