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52
Beta‐dimethylsulfoniopropionate (Dmsp) as a grazing deterrent in coastal phytoplankton communities
Author(s) -
Fredrickson K. A.
Publication year - 2003
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.0022-3646.2003.03906001_52.x
Subject(s) - dimethylsulfoniopropionate , biology , phytoplankton , plankton , seawater , protist , ecology , oceanography , environmental chemistry , nutrient , chemistry , biochemistry , gene , geology
While not much is known about the role of chemical defenses in marine planktonic systems, it has been hypothesized that beta‐dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) may act as a signal for the presence of potentially harmful algal cells. Previous laboratory experiments indicate that DMSP can inhibit feeding in some species of protists, but it is unknown whether this holds true when DMSP is present in coastal communities. Using laboratory and field experiments, the role of dissolved DMSP as a chemical defense in ambient seawater was examined. DMSP (twenty micromolar) added to both laboratory cultures and natural planktonic communities led to a decrease in protist feeding rates; in natural communities, feeding on phytoplankton greater than twenty microns in size was affected more strongly than feeding on smaller cells.