Photosynthesis of Phaeocystis in the Greenland Sea
During the spring bloom in the northern Greenland Sea in 1989, Phaeocystis displayed photosynthetic rates and efficiencies, absorption in the red, and quantum yields approaching predicted theoretical maxima. Average values of these photosynthetic parameters for Phaeocystis were about an order of mag...
| Published in: | Limnology and Oceanography |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1994
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.1994.39.4.0948 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.4319%2Flo.1994.39.4.0948 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1994.39.4.0948 |
| Summary: | During the spring bloom in the northern Greenland Sea in 1989, Phaeocystis displayed photosynthetic rates and efficiencies, absorption in the red, and quantum yields approaching predicted theoretical maxima. Average values of these photosynthetic parameters for Phaeocystis were about an order of magnitude higher than those typically observed for natural assemblages of diatoms which often dominate the phytoplankton in polar waters. Phaeocystis populations were exceptionally well acclimated to temperatures near 0°C and all light conditions encountered. With such high photosynthetic rates and quantum yields, Phaeocystis may outcompete other species and play a dominant role in elemental cycles where major blooms are recurrent features. During Phaeocystis blooms, primary productivity in polar regions would be seriously underestimated by models using previously reported averages. |
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