Shift of Acetone-Extracted Pigments Due to Unknown Natural Phytoplankton Populations from Conception Bay, Gulf of California

Conception Bay is a large, shallow body of water (400 km super(2), 30 m maximum depth) paralleling the west coast of the Gulf of California. It is located in the middle of the Baja California Peninsula and opens to the north-central portion of the gulf. The presence of some small and well identified shoreline sources of thermal waters have seemed until now to be without importance for Conception Bay; several potential underwater sources could have profound ecological significance. During a monitoring mission of physical and biological properties of Conception Bay carried out in October 1991, acetone extracted pigments were measured in samples taken throughout the Bay. Some bottom samples showed uncommon pigment composition. Here we report on the analyses of these extracted pigments.