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The distribution of living planktic foraminifers and their relation to the hydrography of the Caribbean Sea was investigated in plankton net tows and surface sediment samples taken along the Antilles island arc during April/May 1996. The planktic foraminiferal community was strongly influenced by spatial variations in salinity that were largely due to the influx of Orinoco River water into the southeastern Caribbean Sea and inflowing Sargasso Sea water in the north. Along the Antilles island arc, Globigerinoides ruber was the dominant species in the surface waters throughout. In the southeastern Caribbean Sea, where Orinoco River outflow influences the planktic community, standing stocks of planktic foraminifers (>100 μm) between 4 and 50 specimens m⁻³ were medium to low. The southeastern faunas between Tobago and Guadeloupe were characterized by increased proportions of Neogloboquadrina dutertrei …