On relating physical limits to the carbon: Nitrogen ratio of unicellular algae and benthic plants

Baird, ME; Middleton, JH

On relating physical limits to the carbon: Nitrogen ratio of unicellular algae and benthic plants

Baird, ME

Middleton, JH

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Marine Systems, 2004, 49 (1-4), pp. 169 - 175
Issue Date:: 2004-08-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Baird, ME https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4955-2298	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Middleton, JH	en_US
dc.date.issued	2004-08-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Marine Systems, 2004, 49 (1-4), pp. 169 - 175	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0924-7963	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/13155
dc.description.abstract	Unicellular algae such as phytoplankton and benthic microalgae have an elemental ratio of carbon to nitrogen to phosphorus (C/N/P) of approximately 106:16:1, known as the Redfield ratio. Benthic plants, including benthic macroalgae and seagrass, have a significantly different and more variable C/N/P ratio, with a median of 550:30:1, herein called the Atkinson ratio. In this paper, the implications of physically limited light absorption and nutrient uptake, combined with the biological constraint of a relatively fixed elemental stoichiometry, are investigated. Calculations reveal that: (1) for randomly oriented convex-shaped unicellular algae, if nutrient uptake is a linear function of surface area and light absorption is a linear function of projected area, then the ratio of light absorption to nutrient uptake is constant; (2) for benthic plants, the ratio of the rates of light absorption to nutrient uptake varies depending on plant morphology and hydrodynamic conditions; and (3) underlying other environmental influences, there is a constant factor of four difference in the ratio of the rates of light absorption to nutrient uptake of benthic plants, relative to unicellular algae, that can be attributed to the two- and three-dimensional environments they respectively experience. The contrasting geometric properties of unicellular algae and benthic plants, combined with the biological constraint of a relatively fixed stoichiometry, appear to exert a significant evolutionary pressure on the magnitude and variability of their C/N ratios. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Marine Systems	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.jmarsys.2003.10.007	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Oceanography	en_US
dc.title	On relating physical limits to the carbon: Nitrogen ratio of unicellular algae and benthic plants	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1-4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	49	en_US
utslib.for	0405 Oceanography	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1-4	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	49	en_US

Abstract:

Unicellular algae such as phytoplankton and benthic microalgae have an elemental ratio of carbon to nitrogen to phosphorus (C/N/P) of approximately 106:16:1, known as the Redfield ratio. Benthic plants, including benthic macroalgae and seagrass, have a significantly different and more variable C/N/P ratio, with a median of 550:30:1, herein called the Atkinson ratio. In this paper, the implications of physically limited light absorption and nutrient uptake, combined with the biological constraint of a relatively fixed elemental stoichiometry, are investigated. Calculations reveal that: (1) for randomly oriented convex-shaped unicellular algae, if nutrient uptake is a linear function of surface area and light absorption is a linear function of projected area, then the ratio of light absorption to nutrient uptake is constant; (2) for benthic plants, the ratio of the rates of light absorption to nutrient uptake varies depending on plant morphology and hydrodynamic conditions; and (3) underlying other environmental influences, there is a constant factor of four difference in the ratio of the rates of light absorption to nutrient uptake of benthic plants, relative to unicellular algae, that can be attributed to the two- and three-dimensional environments they respectively experience. The contrasting geometric properties of unicellular algae and benthic plants, combined with the biological constraint of a relatively fixed stoichiometry, appear to exert a significant evolutionary pressure on the magnitude and variability of their C/N ratios. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/13155