but follows a climatological trend that includes three seasons characterized by their wind patterns,which in turn affect coastal circulation.Two of the season are the focus of this study.From April to August,equator-ward winds are strongest,and coastal upwelling delivers bio-available nutrients to the surface,prompting phytoplankton growth.Diatoms are dominant,including the periodically toxic Pseudo-nitzschia .During the oceanic season,September to October,equator-ward winds relax,the water column warms and stratified,and there is a transition to sophisticated from diatoms.Many dinoflagellates are susceptible to sheer-stress during upwelling and have developed strategies to take up nutrients,during periods of resource limitation as found in a warm,stratified water column.Strategies for nutrient uptake include mixotrophy and diel vertical migration to below the thermocline where nutrient concentration s are higher.During the oceanic period.dinoflagellates proliferate to densities that discolor the water and from red tides.