Release of photoassimilated carbon as dissolved organic matter by marine phytoplankton

✍ Scribed by T. Berman; O. Holm-Hansen

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1974
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 553 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00388498

✦ Synopsis

The release of photoassimilated carbon as dissolved organic matter was studied in situ in oligotrophic and eutrophic marine waters and in axenic laboratory cultures. Percentage extracellular release (PER), integrated for the trophogenic zone, ranged from 6 to 12% in eutrophic waters and from 17 to 27% in oligotrophic seas. Most of the algal cultures released low amounts of dissolved organic matter (~5%) during exponential growth. The highest levels of PER were observed in surface and deep samples, possibly as a result of elevated photorespiration and senescent cells. The generally lower values for extracellular release reported in this work as compared to other studies may be partly due to improved experimental techniques which minimized previously encountered artifacts.