MEPS 527:59-71 (2015)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11218

ABSTRACT: We investigated the responses of plankton collected throughout a seasonal cycle from a eutrophic, subtropical coastal site near Xiamen, China to short-term temperature modulations from the in situ ambient temperature. We used linear mixed effect models to estimate the temperature coefficients (i.e. activation energy) and tested the hypothesis that the activation energies of autotrophic rates (i.e. phytoplankton growth and photosynthesis) are lower than those of heterotrophic rates (i.e. microzooplankton grazing and community respiration). However, we found that there were no significant differences of activation energy (~0.65 eV) between autotrophic and heterotrophic rates. Based on both physiological and statistical grounds, we argue that the inherent activation energies of phytoplankton photosynthesis and growth rates may not be lower than 0.65 eV in some instances.

KEY WORDS: Temperature · Phytoplankton · Growth · Grazing · Activation energy · Photosynthesis · Respiration