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Fluorescence properties of natural phytoplankton populations

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Abstract

The cellular fluorescence of chlorophyll a in natural phytoplankton was measured during vertical profiling in marine coastal waters. The ratio of in situ fluorescence to chlorophyll a concentration, which was considered as an index of cellular fluorescence, varied over a wide range, with large changes occurring both within the water column and between profiling sites. The variations were caused in part by an inhibition in the fluorescence of cells exposed to intense sunlight. The inhibition, which occurred at irradiances exceeding 0.15 langley (ly)/min, led to diel fluctuations in the fluorescence of those phytoplankton near the sea surface. The remaining variations were independent of changes in temperature, but were unexplained. Both light-dependent and light-independent variations in cellular fluorescence will affect the accuracy of the continuous, fluorometric measurement of in vivo chlorophyll.

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  1. D. A. Kiefer

    Present address: Institute of Marine Resources, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

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    1. D. A. Kiefer
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    Communicated by J. Bunt, Miami

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    Kiefer, D.A. Fluorescence properties of natural phytoplankton populations. Mar. Biol. 22, 263–269 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389180

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389180

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