Can physicochemical factors predict lipid content in phytoplankton?

1. We hypothesized that a large collection of reasonably standardized data for natural algal assemblages would reveal the influence of environmental factors on the fraction of recently produced photosynthate allocated to lipid. 2. Our analysis of photosynthate allocation in fresh‐ and saltwater syst...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Freshwater biology 1997-12, Vol.38 (3), p.571-579
Main Authors: WAINMAN, B.C., SMITH, R.E.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Bacillariophyceae
Biological and medical sciences
Fresh water ecosystems
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine
Synecology
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Summary:1. We hypothesized that a large collection of reasonably standardized data for natural algal assemblages would reveal the influence of environmental factors on the fraction of recently produced photosynthate allocated to lipid. 2. Our analysis of photosynthate allocation in fresh‐ and saltwater systems showed that allocation of carbon to lipid was not well correlated with any one environmental factor. 3. Allocation to lipid increases with temperature up to 12 °C (lipid allocation = 11.7 + 1.70*temperature (°C), n = 48, r2 = 0.50, P < 0.001) but not above. 4. The relationship between temperature and lipid allocation appears to be caused by a unique convergence of nutrient limitation (nitrate or silicate) in the presence of facultative lipid‐producing algae (diatoms or other chrysophytes) which occurs at or below 12 °C during stratification of the water column.
ISSN:0046-5070
1365-2427
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2427.1997.00228.x