Abstract
The effect is studied of different inorganic phosphorus concentrations on changes in growth rates of 7 diatom species isolated from the plankton of the Black Sea. All species examined increase their cell-division rate with increasing phosphorus concentration in the medium. The phosphorus concentrations have been determined above which division rate is not limited by phosphorus content in the medium. The non-limiting concentration amounts to V/V m =0.9. In the species studied, non-limiting concentrations ranged from 1 to 30 μg P/1. The highest values were obtained for relatively large-sized species. The ratio of cell surface to volume tended to be inversely related to the growth-rate-limiting concentration. Minimal values of phosphorus content in cells have been calculated to range from 0.6 to 4.0·10−17 g.at−P/μ−3. Based on a comparison of phosphate levels in the Black Sea with experimentally-derived rate-limiting concentrations, it is concluded that phosphorus does not limit the reproduction rate of phytoplankton in the more productive regions of the Black Sea or in the lower strata of the euphotic zone.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Azad, H.S. and J.A. Borchardt: Variations in phosphorus uptake by algae. Environ. Sci. Technol. 4, 737–743 (1971)
Dobrzhianskaya, M.A.: The regime and dynamics of phosphates in the Black Sea. [In Russ.], Trudy sevastopol'. biol. Sta. 10, 195–277 (1958)
Finenko, Z.Z.: Primary production of Southern seas. In: Voprosy Biokeanografii, pp 69–74. [In Ukrainian]. Kijev: Naukova Dumka 1960
—, V.S. Ten, D.K. Akinina, L.M. Sergeeva and G.M. Berseneva: Pigments in unicellular marine algae and the intensity of photosynthesis. In: Ekologicheskaya Phyziologia Morskikh Planktonnykh Vodorosley, pp 51–90. [In Ukrainian]. Kijev: Naukova Dumka 1971
Fuhs, G.W.: Phosphorus-limited growth of plankton diatoms. Verh. int. theor. angew. Limnol. 17, 784–786 (1969a)
—: Phosphorus content and rate of growth in the diatoms Cyclotella nana and Thallassiosira fluviatilis. J. Phycol. 5, 312–321 (1969b)
—, D.S. Demmerle, E. Canelli and M. Cain: Characterization of phosphorus-limited plankton algae. Tech. Pap. N.Y. St. Dep. Envir. Conserv. Res. Dev. 6, 1–40 1971
Goldberg, E.D., T.J. Walker and A. Whisenaud: Phosphate utilization by diatoms. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 101, 274–284 (1951)
Kabanova, Yu.G.: Organic phosphorus as a food source for phytoplankton. Candidate's dissertation. [In Russ.]. Institute of Oceanology, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow 1958
Ketchum, B.H.: The absorption of phosphate and nitrate by illuminated cultures of Nitzshia closterium. Am. J. Bot. 26, 399–407 (1939)
Kuenzler, E.J. and B.H. Ketchum: Rate of phophorus uptake by Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 123, 134–145 (1962)
Menzel, D.W., E.M. Hulbert and J.H. Ryther: The effects of enriching Sargasso Sea water on the production and species composition of phytoplankton. Deep Sea Res. 10, 209–219 (1963)
Monod, J.: Recherches sur la croissance des cultures bacterienne, 210 pp. Paris: Hermann et Cie 1942
Ryther, J.H. and R.R. Guillard: Enrichment experiments as a means of studying nutrients limiting to phytoplankton production. Deep Sea Res. 6, 65–69 (1959)
Sorokin, Yu.I.: Phytoplankton production in the Black Sea. [In Russ.]. Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR (Ser. Biol.) 5, 749–758 (1964)
Spiess, E. und G. Richter: P32 Markierung der Nukleinsäuren und Bedeutung des Phosphats für Nukleinsäure-Stoffwechsel bei Euglena gracilis. Arch. Mikrobiol. 78, 118–227 (1971)
Strickland, J.D.H. and T.R. Parsons: A practical handbook of seawater analysis, pp 49–62, 185–197. Ottawa: Fisheries Research Board of Canada 1968
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by M.E. Vinogradov, Moscow
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Finenko, Z.Z., Krupatkina-Akinina, D.K. Effect of inorganic phosphorus on the growth rate of diatoms. Mar. Biol. 26, 193–201 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389251
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389251