Abstract
Growth and photosynthetic properties of the marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae Hulbert were examined under continuous illumination in batch cultures at four different irradiances between 2 and 150 μE m-2 s-1. The slope of both cell- and Chl a-based photosynthesis versus the irradiance curves was greatest for cells grown at 15 μE m-2 s-1. The relative Chl a values cell-1 were 1, 1.5 and 2 for cultures grown at 150, 80 and 15 μE m-2 s-1, respectively. A low-temperature (-196°C) fluorescence technique was used to examine cells for photoinhibiton. Photoinhibition was greatest for cells grown at 150 μE m-2 s-1. However, significant photoinhibition of this species was noted even at 80 μE m-2 s-1. No significant difference in the fluorescence pattern was found between cells grown at 2 and 15 μE m-2 s-1. Time course studies indicate that photoinhibition may occur within 2 h following exposure to 350 μE m-2 s-1 in cells grown at 15 μE m-2 s-1 and is reversible when light levels are lowered within 4 h. The ecological significance of phytoplankton unable to cope with excess photosynthetic excitation energy is discussed.
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Communicated by T. Fenchel, Aarhus
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Samuelsson, G., Richardson, K. Photoinhibition at low quantum flux densities in a marine dinoflagellate (Amphidinium carterae). Mar. Biol. 70, 21–26 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397292
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397292