Unusual allometry between in situ growth of freshwater phytoplankton under static and fluctuating light environments: Possible implications for dominance

Mitrovic, SM; Howden, CG; Bowling, LC; Buckney, RT

Unusual allometry between in situ growth of freshwater phytoplankton under static and fluctuating light environments: Possible implications for dominance

Mitrovic, SM

Howden, CG Bowling, LC Buckney, RT

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Plankton Research, 2003, 25 (5), pp. 517 - 526
Issue Date:: 2003-05-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Mitrovic, SM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5528-2215	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Howden, CG	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bowling, LC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Buckney, RT	en_US
dc.date.issued	2003-05-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Plankton Research, 2003, 25 (5), pp. 517 - 526	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0142-7873	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3694
dc.description.abstract	The effects of fluctuating light fields on the growth of phytoplankton are not well understood and conclusions in the literature have been equivocal. Most studies have examined responses such as productivity and chlorophyll a content (laboratory culture and field tests) or growth rates (laboratory' culture tests). In this study we examined the in situ growth rates of different types of phytoplankton within two natural populations. Comparisons were made between populations grown in a static environment (suspended in a fixed position in the water column) and an equivalent population moving through the water column simulating the mixing of entrained phytoplankton. Growth under fluctuating light fields in this experiment only significantly (P < 0.05) increased the growth of the diatom Skeletonema and decreased the growth of Anabaena circinalis, Microcystis aeruginosa and Scenedesmus sp. All other phytoplankton, including the genera Nitzschia, Fragilaria and Dactylococcopsis, did not have growth rates that were significantly different between static and fluctuating light treatments. A general pattern where diatoms grew best, followed by chlorophytes with the toxicogenic cyanophytes M. aeruginosa and A. circinalis growing least well, was distinguished under fluctuating irradiance. This seems consistent with the common occurrence of these groups of phytoplankton in the natural environment. The cyanophytes Dactylococcopsis and Aphanothece did not follow this pattern, with the former growing better under fluctuating light and the latter exhibiting an unusual growth pattern where growth was higher under lower light intensities.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Plankton Research	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1093/plankt/25.5.517	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	en_US
dc.title	Unusual allometry between in situ growth of freshwater phytoplankton under static and fluctuating light environments: Possible implications for dominance	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	5	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	25	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0608 Zoology	en_US
utslib.for	0704 Fisheries Sciences	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
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	5	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	25	en_US

Abstract:

The effects of fluctuating light fields on the growth of phytoplankton are not well understood and conclusions in the literature have been equivocal. Most studies have examined responses such as productivity and chlorophyll a content (laboratory culture and field tests) or growth rates (laboratory' culture tests). In this study we examined the in situ growth rates of different types of phytoplankton within two natural populations. Comparisons were made between populations grown in a static environment (suspended in a fixed position in the water column) and an equivalent population moving through the water column simulating the mixing of entrained phytoplankton. Growth under fluctuating light fields in this experiment only significantly (P < 0.05) increased the growth of the diatom Skeletonema and decreased the growth of Anabaena circinalis, Microcystis aeruginosa and Scenedesmus sp. All other phytoplankton, including the genera Nitzschia, Fragilaria and Dactylococcopsis, did not have growth rates that were significantly different between static and fluctuating light treatments. A general pattern where diatoms grew best, followed by chlorophytes with the toxicogenic cyanophytes M. aeruginosa and A. circinalis growing least well, was distinguished under fluctuating irradiance. This seems consistent with the common occurrence of these groups of phytoplankton in the natural environment. The cyanophytes Dactylococcopsis and Aphanothece did not follow this pattern, with the former growing better under fluctuating light and the latter exhibiting an unusual growth pattern where growth was higher under lower light intensities.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3694