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THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY OF A FRESHWATER DINOFLAGELLATE BLOOM POPULATION: VERTICAL MIGRATION, NITROGEN LIMITATION, AND NUTRIENT UPTAKE KINETICS 1, 2
Author(s) -
Lieberman Oded S.,
Shilo Moshe,
Rijn Jaap
Publication year - 1994
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.0022-3646.1994.00964.x
Subject(s) - dinoflagellate , diel vertical migration , phytoplankton , biology , nutrient , photic zone , bloom , algae , algal bloom , ecology , population , nitrogen , botany , oceanography , physics , demography , quantum mechanics , sociology , geology
The motile freshwater dinoflagellate Gymnodinium bogoriense Klebs., which forms dense blooms in Jezre'el Valley water reservoirs (Israel) appears to be physiologically suited to exploit stratified environments, where it outcompetes all other phytoplankton types. The dense summer blooms (“red tides”) were found to be nitrogen‐limited. The algae's competitive advantage, however, cannot result from superior uptake capabilities: its K s (μmol NH 4 ·L −1 ) for NH 4 was higher and its V max μmol NH 4 ·mg chlorophyll a −1 ·h −1 ) was lower than other phytoplankton types commonly occurring in the region. The competitive advantage of G. bogoriense probably stems from other physiological capabilities: dark ammonia and phosphorus assimilation and the ability to undertake diel vertical migration cycles between the upper photic water layers during the day and nutrient‐rich deeper layers at night. These findings confirm the vertical nutrient retrieval hypothesis in migrating phytoplankton.