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Limnol. Oceanogr, 39(5), 1994, 1044-I 060 0 1994, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, IIK. Estimating carbon, nitrogen, protein, and chlorophyll a from volume in marine phytoplankton David J. S. Montagnes’ and John A. Berges Department of Oceanography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 124 Paul J. Harrison and F. J. R. Taylor Departments of Oceanography and Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 124 Abstract The size of 30 small (2-60 pm) phytoplankton species was examined with a microscope and a Coulter Counter before and after fixation. Acid Lugol’s iodine caused cells to shrink immediately. The shrinkage effect was constant for concentrations of l-10% Lugol’s iodine (in seawater). For optically measured cells fixed in 2% Lugol’s iodine, volume of live cells = 1.33 x (volume of fixed cells). Coulter Counter and optically measured volumes did not agree. For live cells, optical cell volume = 1.24-2.04 x (Coulter Counter determined volume); this difference is likely due to inaccurate volume measurements of non- spherical cells by the Coulter Counter and by inaccurate microscopy resulting from optical distortions (errors of ~0.5 pm in cell dimensions). Cell quota estimates were presented following the relation y = a.x?, where x = optically measured cell volume (pm3), y = any cell constituent (pg cell-‘), and a and b are constants. The constants a and b were 0.109 and 0.99 1 for carbon, 0.0172 and 1.023 for nitrogen, 0.043 and 1.058 for protein, and 0.00428