New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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Photosynthetic activity of an epiphytic diatom, Gomphonema novo-zelandicum, and its Carpophyllum (F»haeophyta) hosts

W. E. BOOTH

Department of Botany University of Auckland Private Bag, Auckland New Zealand

Abstract Net photosynthetic activities of epiphytic Gomphonema novo-zelandicum diatoms and Carpophyllum maschalocarpum and C. flexuosum hosts from the littoral fringe at sites from the Wai-temata Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand, were determined using infra-red gas analyser, Winkler and ¹⁴C bicarbonate techniques. Gomphonema displayed a mean assimilation number of 1.970 and volumetric activity of 16.714 mgC crrr'lr¹ while mean rates for host primary leaves freed of diatoms and corrected for the effects of emersion were 0.873 mg C (g DW)-'h~' for C. maschalocarpum and 1.266 mgC(g DW)-'h-' for C. flexuosum. These activities when considered together with seasonal primary "leaf and vertical primary axis diatom population densities indicated a 6-8% contribution by Gomphonema to the total photosynthetic activity of the host-epiphyte association. On a volumetric basis, however, the diatoms displayed an activity which was 67 and 45 times higher than that of the C. maschalocarpum and C. flexuosum host material respectively.

Keywords photosynthetic activity; epiphytic; Gomphonema novo-zelandicum; Carpophyllum maschalocarpum; C. flexuosum

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1986, Vol. 20: 615-622 Received 17 March 1986; accepted 14 April 1986

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (562K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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