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ON NITROGEN DEFICIENCY IN TROPICAL PACIFIC OCEANIC PHYTOPLANKTON: PHOTOSYNTHETIC PARAMETERS IN POOR AND RICH WATER 1
Author(s) -
Thomas William H.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1970.15.3.0380
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , nutrient , ammonium , algae , nitrogen , assimilation (phonology) , environmental science , photosynthesis , oceanography , chlorophyll a , environmental chemistry , biology , chemistry , ecology , botany , geology , linguistics , philosophy , organic chemistry
Assimilation ratios and dark uptake of 14 CO 2 were measured in phytoplankton from nutrient‐poor water from the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and compared statistically with the same parameters in algae from nutrient‐rich water. Of these parameters, only assimilation ratios decreased significantly in poor water as compared with rich water, and the difference was not great; the other did not differ significantly. It is concluded that phytoplankton from poor water arc not extremely nitrogen deficient and that levels of ammonium (which include some amino nitrogen) are high enough to maintain the algae in a fairly healthy state.