Contribution of bacteria to standing crop of coastal plankton1

Abstract

Water samples were collected from coastal waters near Cape Lookout, N.C., during March 1975 for direct count of bacteria and for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) analysis. Bacteria averaged 6.6 × 10 5 cells ml −1 and 0.09 µ 3 cell −1 . Bacterial carbon was 4 to 25% of the ATP estimate of total plankton carbon.