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Changes in the major dihydroporphyrin plankton pigments during the spring bloom of phytoplankton in two Scottish sea-lochs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

R. J. Gowen
Affiliation:
Scottish Marine Biological Association, Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 3, Oban, Argyll, PA3 AD, Scotland
T. Tett
Affiliation:
Scottish Marine Biological Association, Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 3, Oban, Argyll, PA3 AD, Scotland
B. J. B. Wood
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Microbiology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland

Extract

A chromatographic/fluorcmetric method was used to measure changes in the proportions of four planktonic dihydroporphyrin pigments during the spring bloom of 1979 in two f jordic sea-lochs, Creran and Etive, on the west coast of Scotland. Very little pheophytin a was detected during the bloom. Chlorophyll a, and to a lesser extent chlorophyllide a, were the two main pigments found during the bloom. During senescence the main pigment breakdown route appeared to be via chlorophyllide a to pheophorbide a. These results suggest that standard methods for measurement of ‘chlorophyll’ which do not distinguish between chlorophyll a and chlorophyllide a might significantly over-estimate the photosynthetic potential of phytoplankton.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1983

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