Photosynthetic properties and growth of photosynthetic sulfur bacteria in lakes
TL;DR: The photosynthesis-light curve for purple sulfur bacteria had a steeper inclination than that for green sulfur bacteria at low light intensities, and the properties of the growth phase observed in lakes were similar to those calculated.
Abstract: The photosynthesis-light curve for purple sulfur bacteria had a steeper inclination than that for green sulfur bacteria at low light intensities. Light saturation occurred at intensities of S-7 klux in the former, in the latter at 10-30 klux. Light inhibition was observed in purple sulfur bacteria but was negligible in green sulfur bacteria. The optimal temperature for photosynthesis of these bacteria is considerably higher than that of most phytoplankton or green plants. Photosynthetic sulfur bacteria appear ordinarily in the contact layer between oxidative and reductive zones of meromictic or stagnant holomictic lakes; the light intensity in this contact layer is usually less than 10% of that at the surface. On the assmuption that the photosynthetic rate of these bacteria is limited mainly by the interaction of hydrogen sulfide concentration with light intensity, their growth was analyzed with a mathematical model. The properties of the growth phase observed in lakes were similar to those calculated. The main factors determining the growth of photosynthetic sulfur bacteria in lakes are the II23 concentration in the upper layer and the light conditions in the deeper layer.
Citations
More filters
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarized a number of reports from the literature, collecting the information on the abundance of these bacteria as well as on their contribution to primary production, and suggested the existence of an upper limit for the production of these organisms in nature, based on the balance between growth and losses.
Abstract: Phototrophic sulfur bacteria often form mass developments in aquatic environments, either planktonic or benthic, where anoxic layers containing reduced sulfur compounds are exposed to light. This chapter summarizes a number of reports from the literature, collecting the information on the abundance of these bacteria as well as on their contribution to primary production. From the point of view of population dynamics, the abundance of these organisms is the consequence of a certain balance between growth and losses. Both specific growth rates, and specific rates of loss through several processes are analyzed in several environments, in an attempt to generalize on the growth status of blooms of phototrophic sulfur bacteria. The information available indicates the existence of an upper limit for the production of these bacteria in nature, and seems to suggest the existence of an upper limit for biomass based in the balance between growth and losses.
245 citations
TL;DR: The seasonal and vertical distribution of sulfur photosynthetic bacteria and cyanobacteria in Solar Lake, and their contribution to primary production, are described in this article, where the authors show that primary production is extremely high during stratification and rcachcs a maximum of 8,015 mg C m” d”, 91% of which is produced in the anoxic zone.
Abstract: The seasonal and vertical distributions of sulfur photosynthetic bacteria and cyanobacteria in Solar Lake, and #their contribution to primary production, are described. During stratification, separate plates of the phototrophic sulfur bacteria Chromatium violescens and ProsthecochEoris sp. develop. A bottom cyanobacterial bloom consisting of Oscillatoria spp. and Microcoleus sp. develops in H& concentrations up to 39 ppm and under light conditions down to 0.5% of surface light. The occurrence of a cyanobacterial bloom in the hypolimnion is explained by the facultative anoxygenic photosynthesis of Oscillatoria Zimnetica. Primary production is extremely high during stratification and rcachcs a maximum of 8,015 mg C m” d”, 91% of which is produced in the metalimnion and hypolimnion. The overall annual production (59.09 g C mm2 yr-‘) is low, owing to extremely low primary production in the epilimnion throughout stratification and in the whole column during holomixis. Stagnant conditions in a shallow body of water exposed to high irradiation leads to an inverse productivity profile. The occurrence of sulfur phototrophic bacteria in lakes during periods of stagnation is well known (Kondratieva 1965; Kusnetsov 1959). Their distribution in relation to H2S concentration and light intensities has been discussed for several lakes ( Genovese 1963; Overbeck 1974; Takahashi and Ichimura 1970; Tliiper and Genovese 1968). Data on productivity for monomictic and meromictic lakes with a major contribution by photosynthetic sulfur organisms have been reported by Czeczuga ( 1968a,b), Culver and Brunskill WW, and Takahashi and Ichimura (1968). Pfennig (pers. comm. ) has compiled more data on these lakes (Table 1) which show that photosynthetic sulfur bacteria are responsible for 20-85% of the total daily production. Table 1 includes monomictic and meromictic lakes according to 1 This study has been supported by various grants of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ( Kr 333/6-8, and 11) and a grant to the Department of Microbiological Chemistry of the Hebrew University. ’ Present address : H. Steinitz Marine Biology Laboratory, P.O. Box 469, Elat, Israel, the classification proposed by Hutchinson ( 1957); the highest primary production is recorded for the meromictic lakes. Solar Lake is an extraordinary mesothennal, monomictic lake with extremely high primary production in the anoxic zone. In contrast to normal monomictic lakes of the northern hemisphere, it has a period of holomixis in summer. In fall, seawater seeping in through a bar overlies the concentrated hypersaline brine and allows heliothermal heating of the lower water masses. Stratification builds up with an inverse temperature profile (surface: 16”20°C; thermocline up to 60.2”C, and bottom around 45°C ) . Anoxic conditions develop in the hypolimnion. In early summer, with higher evaporation and less seawater supply, overturn occurs. The stratification period lasts from 9-11 months (Cohen et al. 1977a; Krumbein and Cohen 1974). Temperature, salinity, and oxygen distribution are homogeneous during holomixis. The results of a detailed study of primary production and the distribution of photosynthetic microorganisms and their pigments in this lake are presented here. LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPIIY 609 JULY 1977, v. 22 (4)
157 citations
TL;DR: Rabalais et al. as discussed by the authors used naturally occurring radionuclides and plant pigment biomarkers to document changes in hypoxia events over the past 100 years, using pigments derived from the anoxygenic phototrophic brown-pigmented green sulfur bacteria Chlorobium phaeovibroides and C. phaeobacteroides.
151 citations
TL;DR: How under-ice conditions alter lake physics and the ways that this can affect the distribution and metabolism of auto- and heterotrophic microorganisms are highlighted.
Abstract: Compared to the well-studied open water of the ‘‘growing’’ season, under-ice conditions in lakes are characterized by low and rather constant temperature, slow water movements, limited light availability, and reduced exchange with the surrounding landscape. These conditions interact with ice-cover duration to shape microbial processes in temperate lakes and ultimately influence the phenology of community and ecosystem processes. We review the current knowledge on microorganisms in seasonally frozen lakes. Specifically, we highlight how under-ice conditions alter lake physics and the ways that this can affect the distribution and metabolism of auto- and heterotrophic microorganisms. We identify functional traits that we hypothesize are important for understanding under-ice dynamics and discuss how these traits influence species interactions. As ice coverage duration has already been seen to reduce as air temperatures have warmed, the dynamics of the underice microbiome are important for understanding and predicting the dynamics and functioning of seasonally frozen lakes in the near future.
148 citations
Cites background from "Photosynthetic properties and growt..."
...Photosynthetic sulfur bacteria can be present in high local densities at the redoxcline of ice-covered lakes characterized by high hydrogen sulfide concentrations (Takahashi and Ichimura 1970; Burke and Burton 1988a,b)....
[...]
TL;DR: Rodhe et al. as mentioned in this paper studied the phytoplankton biomass and productivity in Lake Kinneret, showing that during the months of January to June, a heavy bloom of the dinoflagellate Peridinium cinctum occurs, and high values for these parameters occur in late summer and fall (when Chlorophyta prcdominatc) and at the start of the bloom.
Abstract: Annually, during the months January to June, a heavy bloom of the dinoflagellate Peridinium cinctum fa wi conversely, high values for these parameters occur in late summer and fall (when Chlorophyta prcdominatc) and at the start of the bloom. The patterns of algal behavior in Lake Kinneret may have general implications for undcrstanding the role of phytoplankton in warm eutrophic ccosystcms. Of the rare studies of phytoplankton productivity in warm lakes, the most extensive are the classical papers of Talling (1957, 1965). More recently, Lake George, a large but shallow (2-3 m) lake in east Africa, has been the site of a comprehensive project of the International Biological Program (Ganf 1972). Howcvcr, the data reported here for Lake Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee, probably represent the most prolonged and detailed observations to date on phytoplankton biomass and productivity in a warm lake of this size and depth. Some previous reports have dealt with aspects of these topics (Pollingher and Kimor 1970; Berman and Rodhe 1971). Serruya and Pollinghcr ( 1971) analyzed factors governing the appearance of the annual spring bloom, composed usually of the dinoflagellate Peridinium cinctum fa wi Hepher and Langer 1970; Rodhe 1972), distinctive features observed were the relatively large algal standing crop, low maximum rates of net primary production, and high respiration rates. Lake Kinneret, in northern Israel, has a surface area of 174 km2 and a mean depth of 24 m ( Fig. 1) . It is stratified throughout spring, summer, and autumn; homothermy usually begins in late December. Temperatures in the epilimnion range from 15-30” C. All work reported here was from station A at the maximum depth (42 m). We have no direct measurements of solar radiation on the lake surface; net radiation at the short in 1972 ranged from 5,800 k cal m-2 day-’ in July to a low of 430 on an unusually cloudy day in January. The trophogcnic ZOllCthe depth throughout which photosynthesis occurs-was taken on the basis of expcrimcntal findings as 30 m during homothermy and to the depth of the thermocline during stratification. Typical seasonal patLIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY 31 JANUARY 197’4, V. 19( 1) t 0 1 ,,? km JORDANf RIVER
147 citations
References
More filters
01 Jan 1953
1,612 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical equation for the photosynthesis-light relation is developed which includes the effects of inhibition in intense light, assuming that phytoplankton adapts to seasonal light changes and that nutrient deficiency affects the carbon:chlorophyll ratio of natural phyto-ankton populations.
Abstract: A theoretical equation for the photosynthesis-light relation is developed which includes the effects of inhibition in intense light. Assuming 1) that phytoplankton adapts to seasonal light changes and 2) that nutrient deficiency affects the carbon:chlorophyll ratio of natural phytoplankton populations, equations arc derived which determine photosynthesis per unit chlorophyll and the carbon: chlorophyll ratio as functions of incident radiation and nutrient concentration.
These equations appear to describe the main trends in the open North Sea and in a sea loch on the west of Scotland. The photosynthesis-chlorophyll relation also describes the main trends of observations in the Sargasso. For a very shallow turbid area, the agreement was not so good.
705 citations
650 citations
01 Jan 1955
TL;DR: Chlorophylls are the green pigments in plants some of which participate in photosynthesis as discussed by the authors, and they can be recognized qualitatively and oftentimes be determined quantitatively.
Abstract: Chlorophylls are the green pigments in plants some of which, and perhaps all, participate in photosynthesis. An understanding of their nature, genesis, transformation, and function in plants requires that they and their near chemical relatives be recognized qualitatively and oftentimes be determined quantitatively. In addition to the use of analytical procedures for the identification and determination of the chlorophylls as participants in plant physiological processes, these methods may be used in various other fields of science and technology some of which are genetics, plant nutrition, certain aspects of pure chemistry, crop production of land and sea, medicine, pharmaceuticals, food technology, and paleontology.
282 citations