DISTRIBUTION OF n ‐PARAFFINS IN MARINE ORGANISMS AND SEDIMENT1

Abstract

Twelve species of benthic algae from the northeast coast of the United States, three species of planktonic algae grown in the laboratory, a pelagic alga, a sample of mixed phytoplankton and zooplankton, and a recent marine sediment were analyzed for their normal paraffin distribution from C 14 H 30 to C 32 H 66 . Normal paraffins occurred in all samples. Benthic and planktonic algae and the mixed plankton sample exhibited only a slight odd‐carbon predominance. All algae showed a major maximum at n ‐C 15 H 32 or n ‐C 17 H 36 , a minimum between n ‐C 18 H 38 and n ‐C 31 H 44 and a secondary maximum between n ‐C 27 H 56 and n ‐C 30 H 62 . In all these features, the algae and the plankton differed from recent marine sediments. This suggests that the normal paraffins of recent marine sediments are largely derived from sources other than the organisms studied. Differences in the hydrocarbon distribution patterns of various classes of benthic algae may be of taxonomic value. Pristane occurs in several benthic and planktonic algae; phytane, if present, occurs at a concentration too low to be detected by the method used.