Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Photosynthetic behaviors in response to intertidal zone and algal mat density in Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta) along the coast of Nan’ao Island, Shantou, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Intertidal macroalgae suffer different environmental conditions and mat densities during growing period. In the present study, Ulva lactuca Linnaeus were collected from high, intermediate, and low tidal zones at Nan’ao Island, China. These algal photosynthetic pigments and photosynthesis behaviors with different mat densities were measured. The aim is to examine how the physiological responses and acclimation match the representative tidal distribution and algal mat density. The photosynthetic pigment (chlorophyll a and carotenoid) contents and irradiance-saturated maximum photosynthetic rates (Pmax) were greater in low zone–grown U. lactuca compared with the algae grown at high and intermediate zones. Under low algal mat density, the Pmax, apparent photosynthetic efficiency (α), and dark respiration rate (Rd) of U. lactuca grown at low zone were increased, whereas the irradiance saturation points (Ik) were decreased, compared with the algae grown at higher zone. However, the Pmax of high and intermediate zone–grown U. lactuca at high algal mat density were greater than at low density. Moreover, the pH compensation point of low zone–grown thalli (9.98) was lower than the higher zone–grown thalli (more than 10.15); however, the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (reflect photosynthetic system activity) of the thalli collected from the three different zones were similar. Therefore, we proposed that the effects of varied densities on the photosynthetic rates of these three tidal zone–grown U. lactuca thalli were different, which might be related with different capacity of HCO3− utilization of macroalgae at their zonations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abe S, Kurashima A, Tanaka J (2005) The cellular ability of desiccation tolerance in Japanese intertidal seaweeds. Bot Mar 44:125–131

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Binzer T, Middelboe AL (2005) From thallus to communities: scale effects and photosynthetic performance in macroalgae communities. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 287:65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruhna A, Dahlc J, Nielsene HB, Nikolaisend L, Rasmussena MB, Markagerb S, Olesenf B, Ariasd C, Jensend PD (2011) Bioenergy potential of Ulva lactuca: biomass yield, methane production and combustion. Bioresour Technol 102:2595–2604

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedlander M, Levy I (1995) Cultivation of Gracilaria in outdoor tanks and ponds. J Appl Phycol 7:315–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao K, Umeraki I (1989) Studies on diurnal photosynthetic performance of Sargassum thunbergii I. Changes in photosynthesis under natural sunlight. Jpn J Phycol 37: 89–98.

  • Gao KS, Xu JT, Zheng YQ, Ke CH (2012) Measurement of benthic photosynthesis and calcification in flowing-through seawater with stable carbonate chemistry. Limnol Oceeanogr-Meth 10: 555–559

  • Gao G, Liu Y, Li X, Feng Z, Xu J (2016) An ocean acidification acclimatized green tide alga is robust to changes of seawater carbon chemistry but vulnerable to light stress. PLoS One 11(12):e0169040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao G, Clare AS, Chatzidimitriou E, Rose C, Caldwell G (2018a) Effects of ocean warming and acidification, combined with nutrient enrichment, on chemical composition and functional properties of Ulva rigida. Food Chem 258:71–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao G, Clare AS, Rose C, Caldwell GS (2018b) Ulva rigida in the future ocean: potential for carbon capture, bioremediation, and biomethane production. GCB Bioenergy 10:39–51

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • García-Sânchez MJ, Fernândez JA, Niell FX (1994) Effect of inorganic carbon supply on the photosynthetic physiology of Gracilaria tenuistipitata. Planta 194:55–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Häder DP, Lebert M, Helbling EW (2003) Effects of solar radiation on the Patagonian rhodophyte Corallina officinalis (L.). Photosynth Res 78:119–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henley WJ (1993) Measurements and interpretation of photosynthetic light-response curves in algae in the context of photoinhibition and diel changes. J Phycol 29:729–739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurd CL (2000) Water motion, marine macroalgal physiology, and production. J Phycol 36:453–472

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jassby AD, Platt T (1976) Mathematical formulation of the relationship between photosynthesis and light for phytoplankton. Limnol Oceanogr-Meth 21:540–547

  • Jiang H, Zou DH, Li XH (2016) Growth, photosynthesis and nutrient uptake by Grateloupia livida (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta) in response to different carbon levels. Phycologia 55:462–468

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang H, Zou DH, Lou WY, Yang YF (2017) The photosynthetic responses to stocking depth and algal mat density in the farmed seaweed Gracilaria lemaneiformis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta). Environ Sci Pollut R 24:25309–25314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamote M, Johnson JE, Lemoine Y (2012) Photosynthetic responses of an intertidal alga to emersion: the interplay of intertidal height and meteorological conditions. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 428:16–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larkum AWD, Barrett J (1983) Light-harvesting processes in algae. Adv Bot Res 10:1–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lopes PF, Oliveira MC, Colepicolo P (1997) Diurnal fluctuation of nitrate reductase activity in the marine red alga gracilaria tenuistpitata (rhodophyta). J Phycol 33:225–231

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo MB, Liu F, Xu ZL (2012) Growth and nutrient uptake capacity of two co-occurring species, Ulva prolifera and Ulva linza. Aquat Bot 100:18–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maberly SC (1990) Exogenous sources of inorganic carbon for photosynthesis by marine macroalgae. J Phycol 26:439–449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell K, Johnson GN (2000) Chlorophyll fluorescence—a practical guide. J Exp Bo 51:659–668

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mercado JM, Gordillo FJL, Figueroa FL, Niell FX (1998) External carbonic anhydrase and affinity for inorganic carbon in intertidal macroalgae. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 221:209–220

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • 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

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ralph PJ, Gademann R (2005) Rapid light curves: a powerful tool to assess photosynthetic activity. Aquati Bot 82:222–237

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raven JA, Osmond CB (1992) Inorganic carbon assimilation processes and their ecological implicationsin inter- and subtidal macroalgae of North Carolina. Funct Ecol 6:41–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards DK, Hurd CL, Pritchard DW, Wing SR, Hepburn CD (2011) Photosynthetic response of monospecific macroalgal stands to density. Aquati Biol 13:41–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampath-Wiley P, Neefus CD, Jahnke LS (2008) Seasonal effects of sun exposure and emersion on intertidal seaweed physiology: fluctuations in antioxidant contents, photosynthetic pigments and photosynthetic efficiency in the red alga Porphyra umbilicalis Kützing (Rhodophyta, Bangiales). J Exp Mar Biolo Ecol 361:83–91

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schagerl M, Möstl M (2011) Drought stress, rain and recovery of the intertidal seaweed Fucus spiralis. Mar Biol 158:2471–2479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scrosati R, DeWreede RE (1998) The impact of frond crowding on frond bleaching in the clonal intertidal alga Mazzaella cornucopiae (Rhodophyta, Gigartinaceae) from British Columbia, Canada. J Phycol 34:228–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sudatti DB, Fujii MT, Rodrigues SV, Turra A, Pereira RC (2011) Effects of abiotic factors on growth and chemical defenses in cultivated clones of Laurencia dendroidea J. Agardh (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta). Mar Biol 158:1439–1446

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Talarico L, Maranzana G (2000) Light and adaptive responses in red macroalgae: an overview. J Photoch Photobio B 56:1–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou XY, Ji XY, Wang B, Cheng YS, Ma ZR, Choi F (2018) Pido: predictive delay optimization for intertidal wireless sensor networks. Sensors 18:1464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou DH (2014) The effects of severe carbon limitation on the green seaweed, Ulva conglobata (Chlorophyta). J Appl Phycol 26:2417–2424

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zou DH, Gao KS (2002) Photosynthetic bicarbonate utilization in Porphyra haitanensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta). Chin Sci Bull 47:1629–1633

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zou DH, Gao KS (2009) Effects of elevated CO2 on the red seaweed Gracilaria lemaneiformis (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) grown at different irradiance levels. Phycologia 48:510–517

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jiejun Zhang, Bin Yang, and Zhimin Song for assistance with the experiments.

Funding

This study was supported by the project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M633044) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (no. 2018B030311029).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Heng Jiang & Wenyong Lou

  2. Dongting Lake Research Center, Hunan Hydro & Power Design Institute, Changsha, 410007, China

    Heng Jiang

  3. School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Jingyu Gong & Dinghui Zou

Authors
  1. Heng Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jingyu Gong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wenyong Lou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dinghui Zou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wenyong Lou or Dinghui Zou.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jiang, H., Gong, J., Lou, W. et al. Photosynthetic behaviors in response to intertidal zone and algal mat density in Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta) along the coast of Nan’ao Island, Shantou, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 13346–13353 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04775-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04775-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation