Quantifying the short-term temperature effect on light- saturated photosynthesis of intertidal microphytobenthos

Abstract

A mathematical expression is proposed to describe the relationship between the photosynthetic capacity (P(max)) of natural assemblages of motile benthic diatoms and temperature. Experiments were performed in 2 different seasons to document the response of P(max) to a rapid increase in temperature (3°C h-1). In both cases, there was a progressive increase in P(max) up to an optimum temperature (T(opt)), beyond which P(max) declined rapidly. T(opt) did not change from September to December 1995, but the maximum photosynthetic capacity (P(MAX), i.e. P(max) at T(opt)) was twice as high in September as in December.