Coscinodiscus wailesii mutes unsteady sinking in dark conditions

Several species of large, centric diatoms exhibit an unsteady sinking behaviour characterized by order-of-magnitude oscillations in sinking speed that occur over seconds. We show that under nutrient-depleted conditions, Coscinodiscus wailesii exhibits significantly stronger unsteady sinking behaviou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology letters (2005) 2019-03, Vol.15 (3), p.20180816-20180816
Main Authors: Du Clos, Kevin T, Karp-Boss, Lee, Villareal, Tracy A, Gemmell, Brad J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diatoms
Marine Biology
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Summary:Several species of large, centric diatoms exhibit an unsteady sinking behaviour characterized by order-of-magnitude oscillations in sinking speed that occur over seconds. We show that under nutrient-depleted conditions, Coscinodiscus wailesii exhibits significantly stronger unsteady sinking behaviour in the light than in the dark. Results suggest that regulating unsteady sinking in response to irradiance as well as nutrient conditions may help C. wailesii balance its requirements for light and nutrients, which are often spatially separated.
ISSN:1744-9561
1744-957X
DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0816