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Diel cycles of planktonic respiration rates in briefly incubated water samples from a fertile earthen pond
Author(s) -
Szyper James P.,
Rosenfeld Joel Z.,
Piedrahita Raul H.,
Giovannini Philip
Publication year - 1992
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.1992.37.6.1193
Subject(s) - irradiance , respiration , diel vertical migration , zoology , plankton , primary production , photosynthesis , environmental science , photosynthetically active radiation , incubation , respiration rate , liter , chlorophyll a , biology , atmospheric sciences , ecology , botany , ecosystem , biochemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , geology , endocrinology
Planktonic community respiration rates were assessed every 30 min through two 48‐h periods in near‐surface water taken automatically from a fertilized earthen pond and incubated in a plastic chamber for 21 min of each sampling cycle. Parallel records of water temperature, air temperature, windspeed, and solar irradiance permitted calculation of gross and net primary production and photosynthesis‐irradiance relationships. Nighttime respiration rates generally matched oxygen depletion rates in pond water, indicating that incubation‐based rates were representative of a quickly darkened pond community throughout the day. Daytime rates averaged nearly 2 times the mean night rate and 58% higher than the mean day rate determined by a typical interpolation used in free‐water production calculations. Daily gross production ranged from 0.7 to 1.2 mmol O 2 liter −1 d −1 ; respiration constituted 65–75% of gross rates. Gross oxygen production per unit Chl a during sampling intervals was light saturated at irradiance values >600 µ Einst m −2 s −1 , with an asymptotic value of 1.58 µ mol O 2 ( µ g Chl a ) −1 h −1 . This system and method were capable of resolving respiration and gross and net production when chlorophyll concentrations were near 40 µ g liter −1 .