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Mesocosm studies of DCMU-enhanced fluorescence as a measure of phytoplankton photosynthesis

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Abstract

When measurements of in-vivo fluorescence are used to estimate photosynthesis in the field, the marked temporal and spatial variations in phytoplankton populations, and their nutrient and light histories, have produced varied results. Natural phytoplankton populations in large, flow-through mesocosms with different controlled nutrient and sewage sludge additions were sampled weekly from June to September 1984. Good correlations were observed between the increase in fluorescence upon the addition of DCMU (ΔF) and both in-situ production and the parameters (Pm and α) of the photosynthesis-irradiance curve for these phytoplankton populations. Good correlations were also obtained between DCMU-enhanced fluorescence (FDCMU) and chlorophyll a concentrations. The relationship between ΔF and in-situ 14C production was consistent among mesocosms even in the face of major shifts from diatom-dominated to dinoflagellate-dominated populations. On the other hand, the FDCMU:Chl a relationship was significantly different between mesocosms and related to species composition. It was concluded that ΔF offers the possibility of rapidly and accurately indexing both in-situ production and the photosynthetic capacity of mixed phytoplankton populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, 02882, Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA

    A. A. Keller

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  1. A. A. Keller
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Communicated by J. P. Grassle, Woods Hole

This study was supported by EPA cooperative agreement 810265-03 and NOAA grant NA-83-ABD-00008

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Keller, A.A. Mesocosm studies of DCMU-enhanced fluorescence as a measure of phytoplankton photosynthesis. Marine Biology 96, 107–114 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394843

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