SENSITIVITY OF MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON TO UV‐B RADIATION: IMPACT UPON A MODEL ECOSYSTEM
1981; Wiley; Volume: 33; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1751-1097.1981.tb05328.x
ISSN1751-1097
AutoresRobert C. Worrest, Krystyna U. Wolniakowski, James D. Scott, Deborah L. Brooker, Bruce E. Thomson, Henry Van Dyke,
Tópico(s)Isotope Analysis in Ecology
ResumoAbstract Human activities may cause a 16% reduction of stratospheric ozone. The concomitant increase in solar UV‐B radiation reaching the surface of the earth could detrimentally affect the phytoplankton that form the base of the food web in oceanic and estuarine ecosystems. In the current study acute exposure of seven species of marine phytoplankton to UV–B radiation depressed the radiocarbon estimate of primary production. A model of a marine ecosystem was constructed based on the differential sensitivities of the seven species of phytoplankton. Increasing the UV–B exposure within the model from 100 Eff DNA J/m 2 /day to 150 Eff DNA J/m 2 /day significantly altered the community composition of the ecosystem. In nature, alteration of the phytoplanktonic community structure could result in a significant impact upon successional patterns and primary producer–consumer trophodynamics.
Referência(s)