Diel patterns of microphytobenthic primary production in intertidal sediments: the role of photoperiod on the vertical migration circadian rhythm.

ABSTRACT: Diel primary production patterns of intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB) have been attributed to short-term physiological changes in the photosynthetic apparatus or to diel changes in the photoautotrophic biomass in the sediment photic layer due to vertical migration. Diel changes in primary production and vertical migration are entrained by external factors like photoperiod and tides. However, the role of photoperiod and tides has not been experimentally separated to date. Here, we performed laboratory experiments with sediment cores kept in immersion, in the absence of tides, with photoperiod or under continuous light. Measurements of net production, made with O₂ microsensors, and of spectral reflectance at the sediment surface showed that, in intertidal sediments, the photoperi

SUBMITTER: Haro S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6746711 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature