Abstract
During seaweed mariculture the stocking density increases with growth season, which would potentially affect the inorganic carbon availability for photosynthesis. In the present study, the red macroalgal species, Pyropia haitanensis, collected from the cultivation site located at Nan’ao Island, Shantou, China (23o20’N, 116o40’E), was cultured under high and low stocking density level (5 and 1 g L−1) and two different carbon concentrations (ca. 390 and 20 ppm CO2 in air), to investigate how the stocking density and carbon supply affect the growth and photosynthesis of this alga. The relative growth rate (RGR), nitrate reductase (NR) activity, and photosynthetic rates of high stocking density-grown P. haitanensis thalli were decreased compared with low stocking density-grown thalli. The lowered carbon supply in culture inhibited the RGR, NR activity, photosynthetic rates, and photosystem II activity of the algae. It was shown that high stocking density exhibited similar negative effect compared with reduction of carbon supply on the photosynthesis of P. haitanensis. Moreover, high stocking density aggravated the effect resulting from decreased carbon supply on photosynthesis. We proposed that it is necessary to strive to maintain the relative low stocking density to obtain a sustained high rate of biomass increase in P. haitanensis mariculture.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andría JR, Brun FG, Pérez-Lloréns JL, Vergara JJ (2001) Acclimation responses of Gracilaria sp. (Rhodophyta) and Enteromorpha intestinalis (Chlorophyta) to changes in the external inorganic carbon concentration. Bot Mar 44:361–370
Beer S, Eshel A (1985) Determining phycoerythrin and phycocyanin concentrations in aqueous crude extracts of red algae. Mar Freshw Res 36:785–792
Bilger W, Björkman O (1990) Role of the xanthophyll cycle in photoprotection elucidated by measurements of light-induced absorbance changes, fluorescence and photosynthesis in leaves of Hedera canariensis. Photosynth Res 25:173–185
Binzer T, Middelboe AL (2005) From thallus to communities: scale effects and photosynthetic performance in macroalgae communities. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 287:65–75
Binzer T, Sand-Jensen K (2002) Importance of structure and density of macroalgae communities (Fucus serratus) for photosynthetic production and light utilization. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 235:53–62
Chung IK, Oak JH, Lee JA, Shin JA, Kim GJ, Park KS (2013) Installing kelp forests/seaweed beds for mitigation and adaptation against global warming: Korean project overview. ICES J Mar Sci 11:1–7
Copertino MS, Cheshire A, Kildea T (2009) Photophysiology of a turf algal community: integrated responses to ambient light and standing biomass. J Phycol 45:324–336
Corzo A, Niell FX (1991) Determination of nitrate reductase activity in Ulva rigida C. Agardh by the in situ method. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 146:181–191
Cosgrove J, Borowitzka MA (2011) Chlorophyll fluorescence terminology: an introduction. In: Suggett DJ, Prásil O, Borowitzka MA (eds) Chlorophyll a fluorescence in aquatic sciences: methods and applications. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 1–17
Demetropoulos CL, Langdon CJ (2004) Enhanced production of Pacific dulse (Palmaria mollis) for co-culture with abalone in a land-based system: effects of stocking density, light, salinity, and temperature. Aquaculture 235:471–488
Durchan M, Vacha F, Krieger-Liszkay A (2001) Effects of severe CO2 starvation on the photosynthetic electron transport chain in tobacco plants. Photosynth Res 68:203–213
Falkowski PG, Raven JA (1997) Aquatic photosynthesis. Blackwell Science, Malden, pp 128–135
García-Sánchez MJ, Fernândez JA, Niell FX (1994) Effect of inorganic carbon supply on the photosynthetic physiology of Gracilaria tenuistipitata. Planta 194:55–61
Gordillo FJL, Niell FX, Figueroa FL (2001) Non-photosynthetic enhancement of growth by high CO2 level in the nitrophilic seaweed Ulva rigida C. Agardh (Chlorophyta). Planta 21:364–370
Huertas E, Montero O, Lubián LM (2000) Effects of dissolved inorganic carbon availability on growth, nutrient uptake and chlorophyll fluorescence of two species of marine microalgae. Aquac Eng 22:181–197
Hurd CL (2000) Water motion, marine macroalgal physiology, and production. J Phycol 36:453–472
Hurtado AQ, Critchley AT, Trespoey A, Bleicher-Lhonneur G (2008) Growth and carrageenan quality of Kappaphycus striatum var. sacol grown at different stocking densities, duration of culture and depth. J Appl Phycol 20:551–555
Jassby AD, Platt T (1976) Mathematical formulation of the relationship between photosynthesis and light for phytoplankton. Oceanography 21:540–547
Jiang H, Zou DH, Chen BB (2016a) Effects of lowered carbon supplies on two farmed red seaweeds, Pyropia haitanensis (Bangiales) and Gracilaria lemaneiformis (Gracilariales), grown under different sunlight conditions. J Appl Phycol 28:3469–3477
Jiang H, Zou DH, Li XH (2016b) Growth, photosynthesis and nutrient uptake by Grateloupia livida (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta) in response to different carbon levels. Phycologia 55:462–468
Lillo C (1994) Light regulation of nitrate reductase in green leaves of higher plants. Plant Physiol 90:616–620
Mercado JM, Javier F, Gordillo L, Niell FX, Figueroa FL (1999) Effects of different levels of CO2 on photosynthesis and cell components of the red alga Porphyra leucosticta. J Appl Phycol 11:455–461
Parsons TR, Strickland JDH (1963) Discussion of spectrophotometric determination of marine plant pigments, with revised equation for ascertaining chlorophylls and carotenoids. J Mar Res 21:155–163
Porra RJ (2005) The chequered history of the development and use of simultaneous equations for the accurate determination of chlorophylls a and b. Photosynth Res 73:149–156
Richards DK, Hurd CL, Pritchard DW, Wing SR, Hepburn CD (2011) Photosynthetic response of monospecific macroalgal stands to density. Aquat Biol 13:41–49
Scrosati R (2005) Review of studies on biomass-density relationships (including self-thinning lines) in seaweeds: main contributions and persisting misconceptions. Phycol Res 53:224–233
Sültemeyer DF (1998) Carbonic anhydrase in eukaryotic algae: characteristics, regulation, and possible function during photosynthesis. Can J Bot 76:962–972
Viaroli P, Naldi M, Bondavalli C, Bencivelli S (1996) Growth of the seaweed Ulva rigida C. Agardh in relation to biomass densities, internal nutrient pools and external nutrient supply in the Sacca di Goro lagoon (northern Italy). Hydrobiologia 329:93–103
Zou DH (2005) Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on growth, photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism in the economic brown seaweed, Hizikia fusiforme (Sargassaceae, Phaeophyta). Aquaculture 250:726–735
Zou DH (2014) The effects of severe carbon limitation on the green seaweed, Ulva conglobata (Chlorophyta). J Appl Phycol 26:2417–2424
Zou DH, Gao KS (2002) Photosynthetic bicarbonate utilization in Porphyra haitanensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta). Chin Sci Bull 47:1629–1633
Zou DH, Gao KS, Xia JR (2003) Photosynthetic utilization of inorganic carbon the economic brown algae, Hizikia Fusiforme (Sargassaceae) from the south China Sea. J Phycol 39:1095–1100
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong (2015A020216004) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41276148 and 31370476). The authors would like to thank Yayun Deng and Jiejun Zhang for assistance with the experiments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jiang, H., Zou, D., Lou, W. et al. Effects of stocking density and decreased carbon supply on the growth and photosynthesis in the farmed seaweed, Pyropia haitanensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta). J Appl Phycol 29, 3057–3065 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1174-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1174-7