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Application of fast repetition rate fluorometry to phytoplankton photosynthetic parameters in freshwaters

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Abstract

Fast repetition rate fluorometry (FRRF) was successfully applied to various studies in modern oceanography. In this study, for the first time, the seasonality of phytoplankton photosynthetic parameters in a deep alpine lake was observed using FRRF in combination with the traditional 14C incubation technique. Special attention was given to the differences in photosynthetic behaviour during mixed and stratified conditions, characterised especially during summer by a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) dominated by the filamentous cyanobacterial species Planktothrix rubescens. Maximum light-utilisation efficiency (α*14C) was in the range of 0.01–0.03 mgC (mg Chl-a)−1 h−1 (μmol phot. m−2 s−1)−1, while maximum quantum yields for carbon fixation (ΦC,max) varied from 0.01–0.07 molC (mol phot.)−1. Higher values occurred during thermal stratification indicating acclimation of the phytoplankton assemblage. These findings were supported by FRRF-based estimates, although cyanobacterial blooms could not be characterised by FRRF-excitation due to methodological deficiencies. In general, however, instantaneous photosynthetic rates measured by FRRF-excitation correlate well at sub-saturating light-intensities with conventional 14C-uptake rates, although they operate on different time-scales.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Katrin Teubner (Intitute for Limnology, Mondsee) for advice and discussion, and Anika Stracke (Intitute for Limnology, Mondsee) for technical support and company on sampling tours and in the laboratory. Also, we want to thank Robert de Paoli and Steve Juggins (both Chelsea Instruments, UK) for uncomplicated, quick technical support handling serious struggles with the Fluorometer. We thank two anonymous reviewers for comments to strenghten the manuscript.

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  1. Institute for Limnology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Mondseestrasse 9, 5310, Mondsee, Austria

    Christina Kaiblinger & Martin T. Dokulil

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  1. Christina Kaiblinger
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  2. Martin T. Dokulil
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Correspondence to Christina Kaiblinger.

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Kaiblinger, C., Dokulil, M.T. Application of fast repetition rate fluorometry to phytoplankton photosynthetic parameters in freshwaters. Photosynth Res 88, 19–30 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-005-9018-8

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