Since its discovery in natural estuarine habitat of North Carolina in
1991, the widespread impact of the toxic dinoflagellate, Pfiesteria Pi
scicida (gen. et sp. nov.), popularly called the ''phantom'' dinoflage
llate, on North Carolina fish stocks has been established, yet little
is known about its influence outside of North Carolina estuaries. Here
, we document the presence of P. piscicida in Chesapeake Bay. A fish k
ill was observed after inoculating an aquarium containing mummichogs w
ith sediment samples from Jenkins Creek, a brackish creek (salinity 11
parts per thousand) of the Chesapeake Bay system. I! piscicida was th
e cause of the kill, as supported by morphological, physiological, and
histological evidence. The appearance and behavior of the algae and s
ymptoms associated with fish mortality were consistent with those prev
iously observed in P. piscicida-associated aquaria fish kills in North
Carolina. The discovery of P. piscicida in Chesapeake Bay supports th
e speculation that these toxic dinoflagellates have a dramatic and far
-reaching impact on fish stocks in shallow, eutrophic estuaries along
the eastern United States.