Cultures of the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum, the major diatom species in the Delaware Bay estuary, were grown in f/2 culture medium at a salinity of 20 ppt. DOM was collected and ultrafiltrated to obtain two fractions (>lkDa and <lkDa). POM was collected as well, and both the POM and DOM were compared to that collected from the chloophyll maximum (station 24) in the Delaware Bay estuary interms of major biochemical components including proteins (using a BCA assay) and carbohydrates (using MBTH). Results showed that Skeletonema produced significant amounts of DOM in both the HMW and LMW fractions, however, biochemical products inthe field were different enough from those I saw in the cultures to think that either the major input of these products into the Delaware Bay is wither not algal, or is not fresh algae.

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