Plankton relative abundance from net samples and quantitative phytoplankton profiles data collected from R/V Bellows cruise BE-1317 in the Gulf of Mexico from 2013-04-06 to 2013-04-08 (NCEI Accession 0176344)

For this, one-liter samples were collected from the surface and at different depths using Niskin bottles. Samples were filtered onto a 0.45 micrometer nitrocellulose filter and air-dried. A portion of each filter was mounted on an aluminum stub, sputter-coated, and examined with a JEOL JSM-6480 LV scanning electron microscope.

Diatoms, coccolithophores, and armored dinoflagellates were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic category. The number of cells of each taxon in a field of view at a magnification of 1000x was recorded, with up to 700 fields-of-view examined, depending on the density of phytoplankton in the sample. The dataset includes the depth, the volume filtered, the number of cells of each taxon counted, and the calculated abundance of each taxon in cells per liter.

Micrographs taken during the analysis are included.