Freezing tolerance and photosynthetic performance of polar seaweeds at low temperatures
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Susanne Becker
Abstract
Organisms populating benthic shallow water systems of both polar regions are adapted to a particularly harsh environment. We studied effects of freezing and the combination of high light intensities and low water temperatures on photosynthesis of key macroalgal species from the Arctic intertidal (Fucus distichus) and Antarctic subtidal (Palmaria decipiens). Photosynthetic activity of F. distichus specimens was monitored during the freezing process; there was a marked decrease in quantum yield with decreasing temperatures, and a rapid recovery as soon as temperatures increased again. Thus, under the experimental conditions tested, no indication of photodamage was found. Specimens of Palmaria were exposed to a combination of high light intensities and low water temperatures. A persistent impairment of photosynthetic activity occurred at 0°C at light intensities of 400 μmol photons m-2 s-1. In all treatments, there was a decreasing ratio of phycobiliproteins to chlorophyll a. Overall, the two studies provide baseline data for interpreting physiological responses of two important macroalgal species in an extreme environment, the polar coastal ecosystem.
©2009 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
Articles in the same Issue
- Guest introduction
- Biology of polar benthic algae
- Environment, biogeography and biodiversity
- The abiotic environment of polar marine benthic algae
- Biodiversity, biogeography and zonation of marine benthic micro- and macroalgae in the Arctic and Antarctic
- Notes on the systematics and biogeographical relationships of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Rhodophyta with descriptions of four new genera and five new species
- Chemical ecology
- Defenses of polar macroalgae against herbivores and biofoulers
- Field studies on deterrent properties of phlorotannins in Antarctic brown algae
- Primary production and ecophysiology
- Benthic microalgal production in the Arctic: applied methods and status of the current database
- Microphytobenthic biomass along gradients of physical conditions in Arctic Kongsfjorden, Svalbard
- Phenology and seasonal physiological performance of polar seaweeds
- Light and temperature demands of marine benthic microalgae and seaweeds in polar regions
- Freezing tolerance and photosynthetic performance of polar seaweeds at low temperatures
- Polar benthic algae in a changing world
- Impact of oceanic warming on the distribution of seaweeds in polar and cold-temperate waters
- Physiological responses of polar benthic algae to ultraviolet radiation
- Drivers of colonization and succession in polar benthic macro- and microalgal communities
- Conclusion and outlook
- Future perspectives on the investigation of polar benthic algae
- Meetings
- Meetings
- Reviewer acknowledgement Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Reviewer acknowledgement Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Contents index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Contents index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Author index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Author index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Genus/Species index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Genus/Species index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
Articles in the same Issue
- Guest introduction
- Biology of polar benthic algae
- Environment, biogeography and biodiversity
- The abiotic environment of polar marine benthic algae
- Biodiversity, biogeography and zonation of marine benthic micro- and macroalgae in the Arctic and Antarctic
- Notes on the systematics and biogeographical relationships of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Rhodophyta with descriptions of four new genera and five new species
- Chemical ecology
- Defenses of polar macroalgae against herbivores and biofoulers
- Field studies on deterrent properties of phlorotannins in Antarctic brown algae
- Primary production and ecophysiology
- Benthic microalgal production in the Arctic: applied methods and status of the current database
- Microphytobenthic biomass along gradients of physical conditions in Arctic Kongsfjorden, Svalbard
- Phenology and seasonal physiological performance of polar seaweeds
- Light and temperature demands of marine benthic microalgae and seaweeds in polar regions
- Freezing tolerance and photosynthetic performance of polar seaweeds at low temperatures
- Polar benthic algae in a changing world
- Impact of oceanic warming on the distribution of seaweeds in polar and cold-temperate waters
- Physiological responses of polar benthic algae to ultraviolet radiation
- Drivers of colonization and succession in polar benthic macro- and microalgal communities
- Conclusion and outlook
- Future perspectives on the investigation of polar benthic algae
- Meetings
- Meetings
- Reviewer acknowledgement Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Reviewer acknowledgement Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Contents index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Contents index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Author index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Author index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Genus/Species index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
- Genus/Species index Bot. Mar. volume 52 (2009)
