The Narragansett Bay Long-Term Plankton Time Series is one of the world’s longest-running plankton surveys. Beginning in 1957, weekly samples have been collected to assess the phytoplankton community and characterize the physical parameters of Narragansett Bay.
Samples are collected once per week -regardless of tidal stage- for temperature, salinity, turbidity, size-fractionated chlorophyll a and nutrients. Microplankton community composition (size range >10μm, both species identification and abundance) is determined using a light microscope to quantify live samples. The species list for the >10μm size fraction includes 246 different species or species complexes of protists. Samples are also collected for the determination of copepod and ctenophore concentrations.
Funding for the time series has come from the University of Rhode Island since 1999. Ship time is frequently provided by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This Time Series is related to the following projects at BCO-DMO:
Dataset | Latest Version Date | Current State |
---|---|---|
Diatom amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs) from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA from 2008-2014 | 2023-11-09 | Final no updates expected |
Weekly surface water quality measurements in Narragansett Bay from 1959-2019 | 2022-07-28 | Final no updates expected |
Principal Investigator: Tatiana A. Rynearson
University of Rhode Island (URI-GSO)
Co-Principal Investigator: Patricia Thibodeau
University of Rhode Island (URI-GSO)
Contact: Tatiana A. Rynearson
University of Rhode Island (URI-GSO)