Environmental tolerance of the estuarine diatom Melosira nummuloides (Dillw.) Ag

David A. Rendall, Martin Wilkinson

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    6 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Growth rate in culture of three isolates of Melosira nummuloides (Dillw.) Ag. from the Clyde Estuary was uniform over the salinity range 5-34%. although there was no growth in freshwater medium (0.5%.). Plants maintained at 0.5%. for up to 8 days suspended growth and it was resumed on transfer back to a higher salinity. The low light saturation point for growth (37 µE·m-2·s-1) would enable growth to occur at the low light intensity found in a turbid estuary. Large salinity fluctuations (5-23%.) had little effect on the net rate of photosynthesis. These features are adaptive to the estuarine environment but cannot alone explain the unusual abundance of this species in the Clyde Estuary. For this, previous reports concerning heterotrophic growth and effects of grazing must also be considered. © 1986.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)133-151
    Number of pages19
    JournalJournal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
    Volume102
    Issue number2-3
    Publication statusPublished - 28 Nov 1986

    Keywords

    • Estuarine algae
    • Melosira nummuloides
    • Photosynthetic response
    • Salinity tolerance

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