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JPR Advance Access published online on February 13, 2008
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbn028
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Phytoplankton diel and vertical variability in photobiological responses at a coastal station in the Mediterranean Sea

Christophe Brunet1,*, Raffaella Casotti1 and Vincent Vantrepotte2

1 Stazione zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy 2 European commission, DG Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Global Environment Monitoring Unit, 21020 ISPRA, Italy

* : CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: brunet{at}szn.it

Received on January 10, 2008; revised on January 10, 2008; accepted on February 12, 2008


  Abstract

Photophysiological parameters provide useful insights into the effects of environmental forcings on phytoplankton physiology. We present data on the short-term photoacclimative responses of phytoplankton throughout the water column during a diel sampling (every 1.5-3 h for 33 h) at a coastal station in the Gulf of Naples (Italy) in November 1996. Liposoluble pigments (HPLC), variable fluorescence (Prim-Prod probe) and picoplankton cell counts and autofluorescence (flow cytometry) were investigated every 1.5 to 3 h over a period of 33 hours. The phytoplankton was phased to the alternation of light and dark and also showed acclimation to the different light intensities. Photoprotective pigments were synthesized during the day at the surface (0 to 20 m), and were significantly correlated with light intensity changes, as well as with the effective quantum yield of fluorescence. At night, recovery of photosystems from excess light was observed as was redistribution of nutrients and algae due to vertical convective motions caused by thermal dissipation. Equations linking photobiological parameters and time or light evolution were inferred to obtain kinetic coefficients. These were then used as biological tracers of vertical mixing whose velocity in the surface layer was estimated to be <0.05 cm sec–1.

Key Words: Pigments • photoacclimation • Xanthophyll cycle • variable fluorescence • flow cytometry

Communicating Editor: Dr Roger Harris


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