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The 14 C method: Patterns of dark CO 2 fixation and DCMU correction to replace the dark bottle 1, 2
Author(s) -
Legendre Louis,
Demers Serge,
Yentsch Clarice M.,
Yentsch Charles S.
Publication year - 1983
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.1983.28.5.0996
Subject(s) - dcmu , carbon fixation , phytoplankton , fixation (population genetics) , carbon dioxide , nutrient , chemistry , environmental science , photosynthesis , biology , ecology , photosystem ii , biochemistry , gene
Subtracting dark 14 C fixation from light 14 C fixation can lead to serious underestimates of phytoplankton production in aquatic environments. Light, temperature, and nutrient time‐course experiments show that there is an active and an inactive incorporation component of 14 C in the dark. The active incorporation can be prevented by adding DCMU (dissolved in water) to either a light or a dark bottle, thus estimating the inactive component. It is therefore recommended that a DCMU treatment be subtracted from the standard light carbon dioxide fixation for accurate estimation of phytoplankton production.