Effect of dead phytoplankton cells on the apparent efficiency of photosystem II

Franklin, Daniel J., Choi, Chang Jae, Hughes, Claire, Malin, Gill ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3639-9215 and Berges, John A. (2009) Effect of dead phytoplankton cells on the apparent efficiency of photosystem II. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 382. pp. 35-40. ISSN 1616-1599

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Abstract

Measurements of the efficiency of photosystem (PS) II have become widespread in biological oceanography, and various forms are used to assess the 'health' of marine phytoplankton and to help estimate primary productivity. Absolute values of PS II efficiency depend to some extent on the measuring system, but changes in PS II efficiency are most commonly interpreted in terms of cellular acclimations to changing irradiance (including photoacclimation and photoinhibition) and nutrient availability (especially N and Fe). Recent measurements of phytoplankton viability in the surface ocean have revealed that in many regions phytoplankton assemblages may contain large proportions of dead cells. The effect of these dead cells on apparent PS II efficiency is largely unknown. By mixing live and dead cells and measuring PS II efficiency, we show that the presence of photosynthetically non-functional (dead) cells has surprisingly little effect; in a number of species, mixtures in which 50% of the cells were dead had values of 0.5, similar to values often found in natural assemblages. A simple model indicates that the non-linear nature of the fluorescence ratio is responsible for this unexpected result. We conclude that relatively high values of PS II efficiency cannot be used as evidence of low mortality. Our findings highlight the need for more information on the physiological status of both eukaryotic and Prokaryotic microalgae in nature.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: sdg 14 - life below water ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Marine Knowledge Exchange Network
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Resources, Sustainability and Governance (former - to 2018)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (former - to 2017)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climate, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (former - to 2017)
Depositing User: Rosie Cullington
Date Deposited: 23 Feb 2011 09:00
Last Modified: 24 Oct 2022 00:16
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/24403
DOI: 10.3354/meps07967

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