Abstract
The effects of temperature, salinity, growth irradiance and diel periodicity of incident irradiance on photosynthesis-irradiance (P-I) relationships were examined in natural populations of sea-ice microalgae from McMurdo Sound in the austral spring of late 1984. Both P m b (photosynthetic rate at optimum irradiance) and αb (initial slope or P-I curve) were temperature-dependent reaching optimal rates at approximately +6° and +2°C, respectively. P-I relationships showed little difference at 20 and 33‰ S; however, no measurable photosynthesis by sea-ice microalgae was detected in a 60‰ S solution of brine collected from the upper layers of congelation ice. Although diel periodicity characteristic of the under-ice light field appeared to have little effect on P-I relationships, changes in growth irradiance had a profound effect. An increase in growth irradiance from 7 μE m-2 s-1 (ambient) to 35 or 160 μE m-2 s-1 resulted in a transient three-fold increase in P m b and I k (index of photoadaptation) during the first four days, followed by a sharp decline. The effects of these environmental factors on ice algal photosynthesis may influence the distribution of microalgae in sea-ice environments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Beardall, J. and I. Morris: The concept of light intensity adaptation in marine phytoplankton: some experiments with Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Mar. Biol. 37, 377–387 (1976)
Bunt, J. S.: Primary productivity under sea ice in Antarctic waters. Influence of light and other factors on photosynthetic activities of Antarctic marine microalgae. Antarctic Res. Ser. 1, 27–31 (1964)
Bunt, J. S. and E. J. F. Wood: Microalgae and antarctic sea ice. Nature, Lond. 199, 1254–1255 (1963)
Cota, G. F.: Photoadaptation of high Arctic ice algae. Nature, Lond. 315, 219–222 (1985)
Falkowski, P. G. and D. P. Stone: Nitrate uptake in marine phytoplankton; energy sources and the interaction with carbon fixation. Mar. Biol. 32, 77–84 (1975)
Grossi, S. M. and C. W. Sullivan: Sea ice microbial communities. V. The vertical zonation of diatoms in an Antarctic fast ice community. J. Phycol. 21, 401–409 (1985)
Harding, L. W., Jr., B. B. Prézelin, B. M. Sweeney and J. L. Cox: Diel oscillations of the photosynthesis-irradiance (P-I) relationship in natural assemblages of phytoplankton. Mar. Biol. 67, 176–178 (1982)
Healey, F. P.: Short term responses of nutrient deficient algae to nutrient addition. J. Phycol. 15, 289–299 (1979)
Hoepffner, N.: Strategies d'adaptation photosynthetique chez des diatomées de l'Océan Antarctique: variations du nombre et de la taille des unités photosynthetiques. J. Plankton Res. 6, 881–895 (1984)
Holm-Hansen, O., C. J. Lorenzen, R. W. Holmes and J. D. H. Strickland: Fluorometric determination of chlorophyll. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer 30, 3–15 (1965)
Jacques, G.: Some ecophysiological aspects of the Antarctic phytoplankton. Polar Biol. 2, 27–33 (1983)
Kottmeier, S. T., M. A. Miller, M. P. Lizotte, L. L. Craft, B. Gulliksen and C. W. Sullivan: Ecology of sea ice microbial communities during the 1984 winter-to-summer transition in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Antarctic J. U.S. 20, 128–130 (1986)
Lewis, M. R. and J. C. Smith: A small volume, short-term incubation time method for measurement of photosynthesis as a function of incident irradiance. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser 13, 99–102 (1983)
Li, W. K. W.: Temperature adaptation in phytoplankton: cellular and photosynthetic characteristics. In: Primary production in the sea, pp 259–279. Ed. by P. Falkowski. New York: Plenum Press 1980
Littlepage, J. L.: Oceanographic investigations in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Antarctica Res. Ser. 5, 1–37 (1965)
Morris, I. and K. Farrell: Photosynthetic rates, gross patterns of carbon dioxide assimilation and activities of ribulose diphosphate carboxylase in marine algae grown at different temperatures. Physiologia Pl. 25, 372–377 (1971)
Neori, A. and O. Holm-Hansen: Effect of temperature on rate of photosynthesis in Antarctic phytoplankton. Polar Biol. 1, 33–38 (1982)
Palmisano, A. C., J. Beeler SooHoo, S. L. SooHoo, S. T. Kottmeier, L. L. Craft and C. W. Sullivan. Photoadaptation in Phaeocystis pouchetii advected beneath annual sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. J. Plankton Res. 8, 891–906 (1986)
Palmisano, A. C., J. Beeler SooHoo and C. W. Sullivan: Photosynthesis-irradiance relationships in sea ice microalgae from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. J. Phycol. 21, 341–346 (1985)
Palmisano, A. C. and C. W. Sullivan: Sea ice microbial communities (SIMCOs) I. Distribution, abundance ad primary production of ice microalgae in McMurdo Sound in 1980. Polar Biol. 2, 171–177 (1983)
Perry, M. J., M. C. Talbot and R. S. Alberte: Photoadaptation in marine phytoplankton: response of the photosynthetic unit. Mar. Biol. 62, 91–101 (1981)
Platt, T., C. L. Gallegos and W. G. Harrison: Photoinhibition of photosynthesis in natural assemblages of marine phytoplankton. J. mar. Res. 38, 687–701 (1980)
Prézelin, B. B.: Light reactions in photosynthesis. Can. Bull. Fish. aquat. Sciences 210, 1–43 (1981)
Prézelin, B. B. and A. C. Ley: Photosynthesis and chlorophyll a fluorescence rhythms of marine phytoplankton. Mar. Biol. 55, 295–307 (1980)
Prézelin, B. B. and H. A. Matlick: Nutrient-dependent low-light adaptation in the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra. Mar. Biol. 74, 141–150 (1983)
Rabinowitch, E. and Govindjee: Photosynthesis, 273 pp. New York: Wiley 1969
Reeburgh, W. S.: Fluxes associated with brine motion in growing sea ice. Polar Biol. 3, 29–33 (1984)
Smith, W. O. and D. M. Nelson: Phytoplankton bloom produced by a receding ice edge in the Ross Sea: spatial coherence with the density field. Science, N.Y. 227, 163–166 (1985)
Steeman Nielsen, E. and E. G. Jørgensen. The adaptation of plankton algae. I. The general part. Physiologia Pl. 21, 401–413 (1968)
Sullivan, C. W., A. C. Palmisano and J. Beeler SooHoo: Influence of sea ice and sea ice biota on downwelling irradiance and spectral composition of light in McMurdo Sound. Proc. Soc. photo-opt. Instrmn Engrs 489, 159–165 (1984)
Sullivan, C. W., A. C. Palmisano, S. Kottmeier, S. McGrath Grossi, R. Moe and G. T. Taylor: The influence of light on development and growth of sea-ice microbial communities in McMurdo Sound. Antarctic J. U.S. 28, 177–179 (1983)
Sullivan, C. W., A. C. Palmisano, S. Kottmeier and R. Moe: Development of the sea ice microbial community in McMurdo Sound. Antarctic J. U.S. 17, 155–157 (1982)
Verity, P. G.: Effects of temperature, irradiance, and daylength on the marine diatom Leptocylindrus danicus Cleve, 1. Photosynthesis and cellular composition. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 55, 79–91 (1981)
Whitaker, T. M. and M. G. Richardson: Morphology and chemical composition of a natural population of an ice-associated antarctic diatom Navicula glaciei. J. Phycol. 16, 250–257 (1980)
Yentsch, C. W. and D. W. Menzel: A method for the determination of phytoplankton chlorophyll and phaeophytin by fluorescence. Deep-Sea Res. 10, 221–231 (1963)
Zimmerman, R. C., J. Beeler SooHoo, J. N. Kremer and D. Z. D'Argenio: An evaluation of variance approximation techniques for non-linear photosynthesis-irradiance models. (In preparation)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by R. S. Carney, Baton Rouge
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Palmisano, A.C., Beeler SooHoo, J. & Sullivan, C.W. Effects of four environmental variables on photosynthesis-irradiance relationships in Antarctic sea-ice microalgae. Mar. Biol. 94, 299–306 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392944
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392944