Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hitchcock, G. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Hitchcock, G. L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH | VOLUME 4 | NUMBER 2 | PAGES 363-377 | 1982
© Oxford University Press

research-article

A comparative study of the size-dependent organic composition of marine diatoms and dinoflagellates

Gary L. Hitchcock

Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 02881, USA

Received on July 1, 1981; accepted on November 1, 1981 Cellular chlorophyll a, protein, carbohydrate and lipid content was determined for eleven clones of centric marine diatoms (volume 89–1.47 x 107 µ3) and eight species of marine dinoflagellates (597–4.45 x 104 µ3) cultured under continuous illumination at 18°C and 20°C, respectively. In both groups the log of cellular concentrations of each constituent was directly related to the log of cell volume; diatoms generally had lower cellular concentrations than dinoflagellates of an equivalent volume. Diatom chlorophyll a, protein and lipid concentrations normalized to a unit cell volume (pg µ–3) decreased exponentially with increasing cell size; this decrease is a consequence of the diatoms' unique morphology restricting cell cytoplasm to a thin parietal layer within the frustule. Although dinoflagellates yield a wide range of cytoplasm concentrations, small dinoflagellates contained up to 3-fold higher cytoplasm concentrations of all constituents than diatoms of equal volume. The log of cellular caloric values, summed from the caloric equivalents of cellular protein, carbohydrate and lipid, was a linear function of log volume. Diatoms contained ca. half the caloric value of dinoflagellates of an equivalent volume. Although the evaluation of caloric content provides a basis for comparing the "nutritional value" of phytoplankton groups, evidence from the literature suggests subjective factors such as taste and digestibility are equally important in determining nutritional values of individual species.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J PLANKTON RESHome page
V. Tirelli and P. Mayzaud
Relationship between functional response and gut transit time in the calanoid copepod Acartia clausi: role of food quantity and quality
J. Plankton Res., June 1, 2005; 27(6): 557 - 568.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J PLANKTON RESHome page
F. H. Chang, J. Zeldis, M. Gall, and J. Hall
Seasonal and spatial variation of phytoplankton assemblages, biomass and cell size from spring to summer across the north-eastern New Zealand continental shelf
J. Plankton Res., July 1, 2003; 25(7): 737 - 758.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.