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Photosynthetic rapid light curves for Padina sanctae-crucis vary with irradiance, aerial exposure, and tides in Hawaii’s micro-intertidal zones

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Abstract

Environmental variations can have major consequences on photosynthesis and in turn impact the settlement, productivity, or survival of plants in the intertidal zones. Low tides in Hawaii fluctuate <1 m yet expose intertidal macroalgae to high tropical temperatures and irradiances, which are predicted to have negative physiological consequences. To better understand environmental variations, temperature, exposure duration, and irradiance were measured in two intertidal zones on O‘ahu over 8 days with negative tidal heights. Then to test whether these conditions were stressful, the photosynthetic response (via pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry) and relative water content of a common intertidal macroalgae, Padina sanctae-crucis, was measured over varying tidal heights. We found that P. sanctae-crucis was exposed to air from 0 to 6 h on days with tropical irradiance (237–2000 µmol photon m−2 s−1) and a range of temperatures (20.4–32.3 °C), yet plants were able to maintain relatively high water content. Photosynthetic parameters for P. sanctae-crucis derived from light response curves were found to vary with irradiance. High irradiances were associated with lowered maximum rates of electron transport (rETRmax) and effective quantum yield (Φ PSII). It was also determined that macroalgae exhibited different curves with tidal state. P. sanctae-crucis had relatively increased saturation irradiances (E k) and increased rETRmax but lowered effective quantum yield (Φ PSII) during negative tidal heights when aerial exposure is more common. P. sanctae-crucis was then exposed to air for up to 40 min in a laboratory experiment to determine the effect on fluorescence parameters. The 40-min aerial exposure, a duration smaller than which occurs at low tide, resulted in reduced rETRmax, α, and Φ PSII. This manipulation combined with field observations indicate that aggregations of thalli combined with water motion and minimal tidal fluctuations help to limit water loss and maintain photosynthetic rates. From these results, we can conclude, for this system, high irradiances are a major factor that likely limits production.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mailie Rechirei, Drs. Chris Bird and Kelly Boyle, and members of UH’s 2010 Botany 180 class for their assistance with data collection. Further, we thank Drs. Alison Sherwood, Peter Vroom, Dave Carlon, Brian Popp, and multiple reviewers for their edits and suggestions for this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Botany, University of Hawaii, 3190 Maile Way, Room 101, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    T. Erin Cox & Celia M. Smith

  2. Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7093, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Observatoire Océanologique, 06230, Villefranche-sur-mer, France

    T. Erin Cox

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  1. T. Erin Cox
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Correspondence to T. Erin Cox.

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Communicated by R. Hill.

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Cox, T.E., Smith, C.M. Photosynthetic rapid light curves for Padina sanctae-crucis vary with irradiance, aerial exposure, and tides in Hawaii’s micro-intertidal zones. Mar Biol 162, 1061–1076 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2649-1

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