TABLE 3.

Correlation between V. vulnificus abundance, total bacterial abundance, chlorophyll, salinity, and temperature in Barnegat Bay, N.J., over a 21-month period as determined by using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r_s)^a

Parameter	Spearman's rank correlation coefficient for:
	V. vulnificus	Total bacteria	Chlorophyll	Salinity
Total bacteria (cells ml−1)	0.684
Chlorophyll (μg liter−1)	0.537*	0.719
Salinity (ppt)	0.499*	0.569	0.392*
Temperature (°C)	0.775	0.587	0.511	0.398*

^a*, P <0.005. For all unmarked values, P is <0.001.