Abstract
The relative concentrations of a variety of organic compounds in phytoplankton from different depths of the photic zone of Saanich Inlet and Indian Arm, British Columbia, Canada, were determined. In surface phytoplankton the greatest proportion of 14C in newly-formed organic compounds was in the ethanol-soluble fraction irrespective of the light intensity. The proportion of the label in the insoluble fraction increased with depth. Within the ethanol-soluble fraction the relative importance of carbohydrates decreased and amino acids increased with depth. Experiments in Indian Arm indicated that these observed changes were in response to light quality rather than intensity. The percentage release of dissolved organic carbon as a percentage of total fixation decreased with depth and was directly related to the size of the ethanol-soluble fraction.
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Communicated by T. R. Parsons, Nanaimo
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Wallen, D.G., Geen, G.H. The nature of the photosynthate in natural phytoplankton populations in relation to light quality. Marine Biology 10, 157–168 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354832
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354832