Abstract
Factors regulating the biomass and flux of organic carbon through heterotrophic bacterioplankton were examined monthly in the southern Bay of Biscay during 2006 and 2007. Temperature and resource supply were able to explain significantly changes in bacterial biomass (539-1389 mg C m(-2)) and production (5.4-93 mg C m(-2) day(-1)), although at different periods of the year. A switch between the relative strength of both factors in the spring-summer transition seems to be a general feature in temperate coastal waters.