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Science 26 February 1982:
Vol. 215. no. 4536, pp. 1123 - 1125
DOI: 10.1126/science.215.4536.1123
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Articles

Phytoplankton Division Rates in Light-Limited Environments: Two Adaptations

RICHARD B. RIVKIN 1, MARY A. VOYTEK 1, and HOWARD H. SELIGER 1

1 McCollum-Pratt Institute and Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218

Red tide-forming dinoflagellates maximize cell numbers during periods of low light intensities in two ways. For short-term exposures to suboptimal light intensities such as might occur during recirculation in frontal convergences, cell division rates can be maintained at the expense of stored carbon for up to two generation times. During longer periods, corresponding to subsurface transport below a pycnocline, cell division rates eventually decrease as a portion of the fixed carbon is diverted to replenishing stored carbon. As a result, maximum rates of cell division can be resumed rapidly upon advection into surface waters where light intensities are optimal for growth.

Submitted on August 3, 1981
Revised on November 17, 1981


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Microzooplankton herbivory and bacterivory in Newfoundland coastal waters during spring, summer and winter.
J. N. Putland (2000)
J. Plankton Res. 22, 253-277
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