Abstract
In order to examine the effects of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280–400 nm) on photosynthesis of differently cell-sized phytoplankton, natural phytoplankton assemblages from the coastal waters of the South China Sea were separated into three groups (>20, 5–20, and <5 μm) and exposed to four different solar UV spectral regimes, i.e., 280–700 nm (PAR + UVR), 400–700 nm (PAR), 280–400 nm (UV-A + B), and 315–400 nm (UV-A). In situ carbon fixation measurements revealed that microplankton (>20 μm) efficiently utilized UV-A for photosynthetic carbon fixation, with assimilation number of up to 1.01 μg C (μg chl a)−1 h−1 under 21.4 W m−2 UV-A alone (about half of noontime irradiance at the surface), about 40 % higher than nanoplankton (5–20 μm). UV-B (280–315 nm) of 0.95 W m−2 reduced the carbon fixation by approximately 20 and 57 % in microplankton and nanoplankton assemblages, respectively. In contrast, smaller picoplankton (<5 μm) was unable to utilize UV-A for the photosynthetic carbon fixation. In addition, only micro-sized assemblages demonstrated the UV enhancement on their primary productivity in the presence of PAR, by about 8 % under moderate intensities of solar radiation.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (40930846, 41120164007, and 41206132), National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB421207), Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team (IRT0941), China–Japan collaboration project from MOST (S2012GR0290), Special Research Fund for the National Non-profit Institutes (2008M15), and CAS Knowledge Innovation Program (SQ201115). The authors are grateful to Weizhou Chen (Nan’Ao Marine Biology Station, Shantou University) and Zhiwei Che (Sanya Marine Environment Monitoring Station, SOA) for their experimental assistance.
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Li, G., Gao, K. Cell Size-Dependent Effects of Solar UV Radiation on Primary Production in Coastal Waters of the South China Sea. Estuaries and Coasts 36, 728–736 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9591-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9591-6