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Response of phytoplankton Photophysiology to varying environmental conditions in the Sub-Antarctic and Polar Frontal Zone
Citation
Cheah, W and McMinn, A and Griffiths, FB and Westwood, KJ and Wright, SW and Clementson, LA, Response of phytoplankton Photophysiology to varying environmental conditions in the Sub-Antarctic and Polar Frontal Zone, PLoS One, 8, (8) Article e72165. ISSN 1932-6203 (2013) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2013 Cheah et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
DOI: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072165
Abstract
Climate-driven changes are expected to alter the hydrography of the Sub-Antarctic Zone (SAZ) and Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ)
south of Australia, in which distinct regional environments are believed to be responsible for the differences in
phytoplankton biomass in these regions. Here, we report how the dynamic influences of light, iron and temperature, which
are responsible for the photophysiological differences between phytoplankton in the SAZ and PFZ, contribute to the
biomass differences in these regions. High effective photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (F
0
q/F
0
mw0.4), maximum
photosynthesis rate (PB
max), light-saturation intensity (Ek), maximum rate of photosynthetic electron transport (1/tPSII), and
low photoprotective pigment concentrations observed in the SAZ correspond to high chlorophyll a and iron
concentrations. In contrast, phytoplankton in the PFZ exhibits low F
0
q/F
0
m (* 0.2) and high concentrations of
photoprotective pigments under low light environment. Strong negative relationships between iron, temperature, and
photoprotective pigments demonstrate that cells were producing more photoprotective pigments under low temperature
and iron conditions, and are responsible for the low biomass and low productivity measured in the PFZ. As warming and
enhanced iron input is expected in this region, this could probably increase phytoplankton photosynthesis in this region.
However, complex interactions between the biogeochemical processes (e.g. stratification caused by warming could prevent
mixing of nutrients), which control phytoplankton biomass and productivity, remain uncertain.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | phytoplankton photophysiology Sub-Antarctic |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) |
| Objective Division: | Environment |
| Objective Group: | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity |
| Objective Field: | Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity |
| Author: | Cheah, W (Mr Wee Cheah) |
| Author: | McMinn, A (Professor Andrew McMinn) |
| Author: | Griffiths, FB (Mr F. Brian Griffiths) |
| Author: | Westwood, KJ (Dr Karen Westwood) |
| Author: | Wright, SW (Dr Simon Wright) |
| ID Code: | 86458 |
| Year Published: | 2013 |
| Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (DP0773558) |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 9 |
| Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
| Deposited On: | 2013-09-17 |
| Last Modified: | 2014-04-15 |
| Downloads: | 228 View Download Statistics |
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