RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLANT PIGMENTS AND GROSS PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN SKELETONEMA COSTATUM

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Abstract
In bacteria‐free cultures of Skeletonema costatum, in various physiological conditions, primary production was measured using the polarographic oxygen electrode. Gross production is related to plant‐pigment content by multiple regression analysis. A better estimate of production can be obtained by incorporating in the equation, in addition to chlorophyll a, one other pigment, either chlorophyll c or carotenoids, which may have either a positive or a negative partial regression coefficient. This relationship can be used to reduce the number of direct measurements of production required for a given level of accuracy, but, as it is not possible to obtain a universal equation for all circumstances, a new equation must be computed for each application.