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SHADE ADAPTED BENTHIC DIATOMS BENEATH ANTARCTIC SEA ICE 1
Author(s) -
Palmisano Anna C.,
SooHoo Janice Beeler,
White David C.,
Smith Glen A.,
Stanton Gregg R.,
Burckle Lloyd H.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.1985.00664.x
Subject(s) - benthic zone , sponge spicule , diatom , biology , spicule , water column , irradiance , algae , oceanography , sea ice , phytoplankton , biomass (ecology) , botany , ecology , geology , paleontology , nutrient , physics , quantum mechanics
A dense community of shade adapted microalgae dominated by the diatom Trachyneis aspera is associated with a siliceous sponge spicule mat in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Diatoms at a depth of 20 to 30 m were found attached to spicule surfaces and in the interstitial water between spicules. Ambient irradiance was less than 0.6 μE · m −2 · s −1 due to light attenuation by surface snow, sea ice, ice algae, and the water column. Photosynthesis‐irradiance relationships determined by the uptake of NaH 14 CO 3 revealed that benthic diatoms beneath annual sea ice were light‐saturated at only 11 μE·m −2 ·s −1 , putting them among the most shade adapted microalgae reported. Unlike most shade adapted microalgae, however, they were not photoinhibited even at irradiances of 300 μE·m −2 ·s −1 . Although in situ primary production by benthic diatoms was low, it may provide a source of fixed carbon to the abundant benthic invertebrates when phytoplankton or ice algal carbon is unavailable.