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Inorganic carbon acquisition by natural phytoplankton assemblages and marine diatoms Martin, Cheryl Lynne
Abstract
Marine phytoplankton (microalgae and cyanobacteria) play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. It is therefore essential to understand the mechanisms involved in inorganic carbon (C) acquisition by these organisms. I examined C uptake strategies of natural phytoplankton assemblages in the Bering Sea and numerous individual marine diatom species in the laboratory. This study employs the isotope disequilibrium method to quantitatively determine the C uptake strategies of phytoplankton, and the degree to which they utilize carbon dioxide (CO₂) and/or bicarbonate (HCO₃) as their C source for photosynthesis. The first part of this study investigated C acquisition strategies of natural phytoplankton communities in the Bering Sea. HCO₃ seemed to be the predominant C source for all phytoplankton assemblages, and the results suggest that HCO₃ utilization occurred mainly through a direct transport system. Although species composition and ambient CO₂ concentration did not appear to influence direct HCO₃ transport, these parameters did appear to influence indirect HCO₃ utilization by the enzyme external carbonic anhydrase (eCA). Ship-board CO₂ manipulation incubations were performed and there was a statistically significant CO₂ effect on the pathways of C assimilation. The second part of this study examined C uptake strategies of several diatom species in the laboratory. To my knowledge, no studies have thoroughly investigated an array of marine diatom species in relation to their C acquisition strategies. The majority of the diatom species utilized HCO₃ as their key C source, and it appears that most of the HCO₃ utilization occurred through a direct transport process. The C acquisition strategies of the diatoms in this study appear to be independent of diatom size (i.e. surface area: volume ratio) and growth rate.
Item Metadata
Title |
Inorganic carbon acquisition by natural phytoplankton assemblages and marine diatoms
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2005
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Description |
Marine phytoplankton (microalgae and cyanobacteria) play a vital role in the
global carbon cycle. It is therefore essential to understand the mechanisms involved in
inorganic carbon (C) acquisition by these organisms. I examined C uptake strategies of
natural phytoplankton assemblages in the Bering Sea and numerous individual marine
diatom species in the laboratory. This study employs the isotope disequilibrium method
to quantitatively determine the C uptake strategies of phytoplankton, and the degree to
which they utilize carbon dioxide (CO₂) and/or bicarbonate (HCO₃) as their C source for
photosynthesis.
The first part of this study investigated C acquisition strategies of natural
phytoplankton communities in the Bering Sea. HCO₃ seemed to be the predominant C
source for all phytoplankton assemblages, and the results suggest that HCO₃ utilization
occurred mainly through a direct transport system. Although species composition and
ambient CO₂ concentration did not appear to influence direct HCO₃ transport, these
parameters did appear to influence indirect HCO₃ utilization by the enzyme external
carbonic anhydrase (eCA). Ship-board CO₂ manipulation incubations were performed
and there was a statistically significant CO₂ effect on the pathways of C assimilation.
The second part of this study examined C uptake strategies of several diatom
species in the laboratory. To my knowledge, no studies have thoroughly investigated an
array of marine diatom species in relation to their C acquisition strategies. The majority
of the diatom species utilized HCO₃ as their key C source, and it appears that most of the
HCO₃ utilization occurred through a direct transport process. The C acquisition strategies of the diatoms in this study appear to be independent of diatom size (i.e.
surface area: volume ratio) and growth rate.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-12-10
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0091971
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2005-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.