Abstract

The abundance of virus like particles (VLP) was determined for the first time in the water column and sediment of Coliumo Bay and on a station on the continental shelf off central Chile. The VLP decreases with depth in the water column with a surface maximum of 4.1 × 107 VLP mL-1 and 5.87 × 107 VLP mL-1 on the shelf and Coliumo Bay, respectively. In the sediments the VLP ranged between 4.28 × 10 8 VLP mL (Coliumo Bay) and 1.01 × 108 VLP mL (shelf). The abundance of VLP is higher at the Bay both in the water column and in the sediment.