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Vertical migratory rhythms of benthic diatoms in a tropical intertidal sand flat: Influence of irradiance and tides

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title Vertical migratory rhythms of benthic diatoms in a tropical intertidal sand flat: Influence of irradiance and tides
 
Creator Mitbavkar, S.
Anil, A.C.
 
Subject migratory species
benthic environment
biological rhythms
vertical migrations
irradiance
ocean tides
primary production
chlorophylls
 
Description Vertical migratory behavior of benthic diatoms is one of the adaptive strategies employed for a life in intertidal habitats. Irradiance and tides are considered to be the key factors governing vertical migration. Experiments were carried out to determine the influence of these factors in tropical intertidal sand flat. Rising to the sediment surface for fulfillment of their light requirements for photosynthesis was the first priority. If not fulfilled during the low-tide exposure, diatoms could withstand the tidal effects and stay up at the surface even during the high-tide coverage. In the laboratory experiments, where the effects of tides were removed, the endogenous clock continued to operate in a similar fashion to that in the field when under 12-h light:12-h dark conditions, whereas continuous darkness induced a tidal rhythm. In continuous light, diatoms preferred to stay up longer than was observed in field. The above-mentioned observations reveal that irradiance has a stronger effect than tides in controlling/regulating microscale migrations in benthic diatoms. In addition, temporal differences in the irradiance and the resulting changes in diatom migration can have implications for littoral primary productivity.
 
Date 2008-07-02T04:51:47Z
2008-07-02T04:51:47Z
2004
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Marine biology, Vol.145; 9-20p.
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/1117
 
Language en
 
Rights Copyright [2004]. It is tried to respect the rights of the copyright holders to the best of the knowledge. If it is brought to our notice that the rights are violated then the item would be withdrawn.
 
Publisher Springer