A Five-year Study of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation in Southern Chile (39° S): Potential Impact on Physiology of Coastal Marine Algae?

• Published in: Photochemistry and photobiology 2006-03, Vol.82 (2), p.515-522
• Main Authors: Huovinen, Pirjo, Gómez, Iván, Lovengreen, Charlotte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Chile; Chlorophyll - chemistry; Chlorophyll - radiation effects; Chlorophyta - physiology; Chlorophyta - radiation effects; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Enteromorpha intestinalis; Fluorescence; Lessonia nigrescens; Marine; Photosynthesis - radiation effects; Seasons; Seawater; Solar Energy; Time Factors; Ultraviolet Rays
• ISSN: 0031-8655; 1751-1097
• DOI: 10.1562/2005-07-05-RA-601

This study reports 5 years of (1998–2003) data on continuous solar-irradiation measurements from a scanning spectroradiometer (SUV-100) in Valdivia, Chile (39° S), accompanied by evaluation of the impact of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on marine macroalgae of this site. UVR conditions showed a strong seasonal variation, which was less pronounced toward longer wavelengths. Daily maximum dose rates (clear days) averaged in winter–summer: UV-B(290–315 nm) 0.30–2.1, UV-B(290–320 nm) 0.70–3.7, UV-A(315–400 nm) 20.6–62.1, UV-A(320–400 nm) 20.2–60.5 W m−2, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) 969–2423 μmol m−2 s−1. The corresponding daily doses (all the days) ranged: UV-B(290–315 nm) 2.6–40.7, UV-B(290–320 nm) 6.7–78.5, UV-A(315–400 nm) 228–1539, UV-A(320–400 nm) 224–1501, and PAR 2008–13308 kJ m−2 d−1. Taking into consideration action spectra of a biological interest, the risk of UV exposure could be up to 37 times higher in summer than in winter. The photosynthetic activity (as maximum quantum yield of chlorophyll fluorescence, Fv/Fm) of the brown alga Lessonia nigrescens from the infralittoral zone was markedly more sensitive to UVR than of the green alga Enteromorpha intestinalis from the upper midlittoral, and the UV-B wave band increased markedly photoinhibition. In L. nigrescens, maximal photoinhibition (40%) took place at weighted (the action spectrum for photoinhibition of photosynthesis) UVR doses of 800 kJ m−2, irrespective of the season (corresponding midsummer daily dose in Valdivia is 480 kJ m−2). In winter, when this alga was at its most sensitive, the weighted UV dose causing 35–40% photoinhibition was around 200 kJ m−2. In E. intestinalis, weighted doses of 800 kJ m−2 resulted in low photoinhibition (