Abstract
The influence of Ekofisk crude oil on the development of natural flagellate communities was studied by means of polyethylene-bounded enclosures of coastal water masses in western Norway. The reaction to the pollution was most obvious at species level: Micromonas pusilla was not recorded in the upper 2 metres 12 days from start of the experiment, Emiliania huxleyi was absent or just about surviving, Nephroselmis pyriformis appeared to be indifferent to the pollution, whereas Ochromonas minima seemed to take advantage of the situation. Amoebae were common in the oil-polluted bag, though not recorded in the control. Addition of oil-dispersing agent Corexit 9527 changed the plankton community radically: Colourless flagellates and coccoid Chlorophyceae dominated, but total numbers were relatively small.
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