eCite Digital Repository
Phytoplankton patchiness: quantifying the biological contribution using Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometry
Citation
Strutton, PG and Mitchell, JG and Parslow, JS and Greene, RM, Phytoplankton patchiness: quantifying the biological contribution using Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometry, Journal of Plankton Research, 19, (9) pp. 1265-1274. ISSN 0142-7873 (1997) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 1997 Oxford University Press
DOI: doi:10.1093/plankt/19.9.1265
Abstract
The coupling between physical and biological processes is important in the marine environment because phytoplankton growth and turbulent miring operate on similar time scales. Since the 1970s, the relative contribution of these two parameters to phytoplankton patchiness has been studied using analytical tools such as spectral analysis. Here, for the first time, we combine spectral analysis with Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometry as a method of quantifying the importance of photosynthetic efficiency in the biological-physical interactions that lead to oceanic chlorophyll distributions. The results indicate that photosynthetic efficiency is correlated with the sum of the corresponding chlorophyll power spectrum; a measure of the total spatial variability of chlorophyll. In addition, high photosynthetic rates are associated with regions where the spatial distributions of chlorophyll and salinity differ, as quantified by the slopes of their respective power spectra. The results are particularly evident at large spatial scales, representing an empirical verification of previous theoretical work regarding phytoplankton spatial structure.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | phytoplankton, spatial structure |
Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
Research Group: | Oceanography |
Research Field: | Biological oceanography |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences |
UTAS Author: | Strutton, PG (Professor Peter Strutton) |
ID Code: | 138650 |
Year Published: | 1997 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 28 |
Deposited By: | Oceans and Cryosphere |
Deposited On: | 2020-04-20 |
Last Modified: | 2020-07-24 |
Downloads: | 0 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page