Transport of benthic diatoms across the continental shelf off southern Baja California Peninsula

Material collected with a time-series sediment trap moored in San Lázaro Basin, near the NE Pacific upwelling zone off Bahía Magdalena, Baja California Sur (Mexico), from August to November 1996 and December 1997 to June 1998, revealed temporal changes in the flux of benthic diatoms. Fluxes were highest during fall and spring. Lateral transport of benthic diatoms from the coastal zone seems to be an important phenomenon at this site. The species assemblage includes components found mainly in mangrove environments of Bahía Magdalena, as well as nearby rocky coastlines, indicating that locally the northward counter current or coastal gyres carry living cells, and possibly other particles of lagoon origin, across the continental shelf.