Characterisation of estuarine intertidal macroalgae by laser-induced fluorescence

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The article reports the application of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) for the assessment of macroalgae communities of estuarine intertidal areas. The method was applied for the characterisation of fifteen intertidal macroalgae species of the Tagus estuary, Portugal, and adjacent coastal area. Three bands characterised the LIF spectra of red macroalgae with emission maxima in the ranges 577–583 nm, 621–642 nm and 705–731 nm. Green and brown macroalgae showed one emission maximum in the red region (687–690 nm) and/or one in the far-red region (726–732 nm). Characteristics of LIF emission spectra were determined by differences in the main fluorescing pigments: phycoerythrin, phycocyanin and chlorophyll a (Chl a). In the green and brown macroalgae groups, the relative significance of the two emission maxima seems to be related to the thickness of the photosynthetic layer. In thick macroalgae, like Codium tomentosum or Fucus vesiculosus, the contribution of the far-red emission fluorescence peak was more significant, most probably due to re-absorption of the emitted red Chl a fluorescence within the dense photosynthetic layer. Similarly, an increase in the number of layers of the thin-blade green macroalgae Ulva rigida caused a shift to longer wavelengths of the red emission maximum and the development of a fluorescence peak at the far-red region. Water loss from Ulva's algal tissue also led to a decrease in the red/far-red Chl fluorescence ratio (F685/F735), indicating an increase in the density of chloroplasts in the shrinking macroalgal tissue during low tide exposure.