Transport and distribution of bacteria and diatoms in the aqueous surface micro-layer of a salt marsh

The effects of tide and wind upon the distribution and transport of bacteria and diatoms in the aqueous surface microlayers of a Massachusetts and San Francisco Bay salt marsh were examined. The compression of the surface films by both tide and wind resulted in significant enrichments of bacterioneuston. At the San Francisco Bay site, significant numbers of diatoms were transported within the microlayer over a tidal cycle.