Significance of picocyanobacteria in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden

The distribution of phycoerythrin-rich cyanobacteria was studied for the first time in the central Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden in February/March 1987. Cell numbers ranged from 4.6 to 367×10 3 cells mL #751 with an average concentration of 25.1 ± 21.2×10 3 cells mL #751 in the upper 100 m of the water column. We found considerable small-scale variations both in space and time. The average cell number varied by a factor of 2 from day to day, and the vertical profile changed (...)