Physiological Bases of Phytoplankton Ecology

This book is a collection of 18 essays aimed at the elucidation and exposition of the physiological first principles that underlie phytoplankton ecology. It is based on a successful Advanced Study Institute of which the object was to expose field phytoplankton ecologists to the most recent advances made by laboratory-based physiologists in their understanding of algal photosynthesis, metabolism, and growth, and also to review the physiological principles on which these advances are founded. A second theme is the attempt to incorporate this new knowledge into the interpretation of measurements made on natural assemblages of phytoplankton in the field. The subject matter treated includes the light reactions of photosynthesis; the dark reactions of photosynthesis; respiration and photorespiration; numerical analysis of photosynthesis experiments; application of radioactive tracer techniques to metabolic studies;dynamics of the cell cycle and synchrony ;nitrogen metabolism;nutrient uptake kinetics;the relationship between assimilation and growth; adaptation of the metabolic parameters to environmental change; and the physiological and morphological bases of competition and succession.