STUDIES OF MARINE PLANKTONIC DIATOMS: I. CYCLOTELLA NANA HUSTEDT, AND DETONULA CONFERVACEA (CLEVE) GRAN.

Bacteria-free clones of the small centric diatom Cyclotella nana Hustedt were isolated, three from estuarine localities, one from Continental Shelf waters, and one from the Sargasso Sea. Detonula confervacea was isolated from Narragansett Bay. Morphology of all clones was studied with the light and electron microscopes. Morphological differences between clones of C. nana do not at present warrant separating any as distinct species.Clones of C. nana require only vitamin B₁₂; D. confervacea has no vitamin requirement.Growth of the estuarine clones of C. nana was unaffected by salinity down to 0.5‰ and increased with temperature to 25 °C. The Shelf clone grew more rapidly at salinities above 8‰ and at temperatures between 10° and 20 °C. The Sargasso Sea clone did not survive below 15 °C or 17.5‰, while D. confervacea did not survive at temperatures above 15° or at salinities below 8‰. The physiological differences between clones correspond roughly to the conditions obtaining in nature where each was collected.