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Journal of Plankton Research, Vol 21, 1101-1110, Copyright © 1999 by Oxford University Press

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Effect of irradiance and temperature on the growth rate of Thalassiosira curviseriata Takano (Bacillariophyceae), a bloom diatom in Bahía Blanca estuary (Argentina)

C Popovich and A Gayoso
Departamento de Biologia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina; Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas, Argentina; Corresponding author address: Centro Nacional Patagónico, Boulevard Brown s/n, Casilla de Correo 128, 9120 Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

Long-term phytoplankton studies in the Bahí Blanca estuary showed a seasonal pattern characterized by a winter-early spring bloom of diatoms dominated by Thalassiosira curviseriata. Laboratory experiments were carried out to elucidate the influence of irradiance, temperature and salinity on the growth rate of T.curviseriata. The maximum daily growth rate was 1.93 divisions at 20C. The compensation point (Ic) varied from approaching zero to 3.08 mol m-2 s-1, values were -0.020-0.070 divisions mol-1, and the calculated Ik (the irradiance at which initial slope line reaches the maximum rate of growth) varied between 32 and 36 mol m-2 s-1. Growth became light saturated (when max) between 70 and 80 mol m-2 s-1, and was inhibited at -150 mol m-2 s-1 at all temperatures (5-20°C). The range of temperatures at which T.curviseriata can grow (5-20°C) coincides with the temperature range over which it is found in the field. In contrast, the thermal optimum for growth, 20°C, was higher than the range of temperatures (between 5 and 10°C) characteristic of the winter-early spring bloom in Bahí Blanca estuary. The mean specific growth rate of T.curviseriata was not affected by salinity over the tested range between 25 and 40 p.p.t. Field observations and experimental data support the characterization of T.curviseriata as a eurythermal and euryhaline species adapted to growth at relatively low light intensity. These characteristics may explain the ability of T.curviseriata to flourish seasonally when light conditions are apparently limiting and its presence almost year round under variable conditions of temperature and salinity.
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