Photosynthetic characteristics of Coral Sea picoplankton (<2µm size fraction)

Experiments were carries out in the Coral Sea in August-1984, October-November-1985, and February, 1986.Photosynthetic parameters were measured in living phytoplankton populations from the Coral sea during October - November 1985. This study aimed to compare photosynthesis irradiance (P-I) response of near surface and deep living picoplankton assemblages. Experiments were conducted using short midday incubations, and to counter any distortion by diurnal fluctuation in photosynthetic potential, time series experiments were also conducted to establish temporal patters of carbon uptake over the course of a day. P-I experiments were carried out at seven locations in the Coral Sea, where three locations used near-surface phytoplankton (10m) and four used phytoplankton from the deep chlorophyll maximum layer (>100m).Three time series experiments were conducted at Davies Reef and Old Reef located in the central Great Barrier Reef region, to establish relationships between photosynthesis measured in short-term mid-day incubations and estimated of daily production integrated from dawn-to-dusk series of contiguous short incubations. Data for these experiments can be found on Furnas MJ and Mitchell AW (1988) Phytoplankton primary production measurements in reef lagoons. AIMS Data Report. Australian Institute of Marine Science. (29 p.)