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The influence of growth conditions on the size dependence of maximal algal density and biomass
Author(s) -
Agusti Susana,
Kalff Jacob
Publication year - 1989
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.1989.34.6.1104
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , shading , chlorophyta , range (aeronautics) , exponent , cell size , power density , volume (thermodynamics) , environmental science , algae , biology , ecology , physics , power (physics) , materials science , thermodynamics , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , computer graphics (images) , composite material , microbiology and biotechnology
The maximal density achieved by 11 freshwater microalgae (mostly Chlorophyta) with a wide range in cell size, grown under standardized conditions, varied as the −0.79 power of their cell volume. The proximity of this exponent to 0.75 (¾ rule) and the fact that the relationship was not significatively altered by light limitation (11 µ Einst m −2 s −1 ) suggest that physiological constraints, and not self‐shading as proposed in the past, should be responsible for the existence of the size‐dependent maximum density. The results also demonstrate a positive relationship between cell size and maximal biomass that is in agreement with previous field observations.