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An apparatus for measuring photosynthesis and respiration of intact large marine algae and comparison of results with those from experiments with tissue segments

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Abstract

An apparatus is described for incubating large marine algae in light and dark chambers on the sea floor, while providing vigorous circulation of water prefiltered to remove phytoplankton. Successful use of the equiment in over 500 h of incubations of Laminaria longicruris has shown that earlier methods in which strips of tissue are incubated in bottles greatly overestimates dark respiration rates and increases experimental error. The effect of these findings on long-term productivity estimates is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    B. G. Hatcher

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  1. B. G. Hatcher
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Communicated by T.R. Parsons, Vancouver

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Hatcher, B.G. An apparatus for measuring photosynthesis and respiration of intact large marine algae and comparison of results with those from experiments with tissue segments. Mar. Biol. 43, 381–385 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396932

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396932

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