Physiological responses of phytoplankton to turbulent and stable environments in an upwelling region

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Abstract
The assimilation of 14C into photosynthetic products was monitored in 2 phytoplankton blooms growing in turbulent environments during Feb. and March, 1981. The March community appeared to store a large proportion of C in sugars, polysaccharides and lipids in the upper euphotic zone, but as the cells were mixed to deeper depths the flow of C was directed into organic acids, amino acids and protein near the bottom of the euphotic zone. In Feb. the winds that induced initial deep mixing moderated during the 2nd half of the study, allowing the water mass to stabilize. Total assimilation by the community was greater under mixing conditions than in the stable water, implying faster growth in a turbulent environment. When the community was growing in the stable water a greater percentage of C was incorporated into protein. Since algal growth is linked to protein synthesis, growth in the stable environment was probably faster than in the turbulent environment.

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