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Journal of Plankton Research Vol.23 no.12 pp.1373-1384, 2001
© Oxford University Press 2001

Light absorption by phytoplankton: development of a matching parameter for algal photosynthesis under different spectral regimes

Stiig Markager,1,2 and Warwick F. Vincent

Département de Biologie & Centre D’études Noridques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec G1K 7P4, Canada

1 Present Address: National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Marine Ecology, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark

2 Corresponding Author: E-mail: markager{at}dmu.dk

A spectral matching parameter (absorption efficiency, Ae) was developed to quantify the relationship between the light absorption spectra of phytoplankton communities and the spectral irradiance of their ambient light field. Ae was defined as the ratio between the amount of radiation absorbed by the phytoplankton in situ and the amount absorbed in a spectrally flat light regime. This approach was applied to our measurements of spectral absorption for the phytoplankton communities in six lakes in High Arctic Canada that spanned a range of bio-optical conditions. Ae values were calculated for the light spectrum down through the water column and for 11 types of artificial light source. Spectral matching varied among lakes and with depth. There was a significant linear relationship between the relative change in Ae with depth and the diffuse attenuation coefficient Kd (r2 = 0.52, P = 0.012 for Kd for the 400–700 nm waveband; r2 = 0.78, P = 0.0003 for Kd at 440 nm). The tabulated values for the matching parameter Ae allow the comparison of photosynthesis versus irradiance (P versus E) curves among studies using different light sources. Ae estimates also facilitate the evaluation of chromatic adaptation in natural waters, and the calculation of spectrally adjusted, in situ primary production down through a water column from P versus E relationships under a single spectral regime.


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