Effects of simulated current on the growth rate and nitrogen metabolism of Gracilaria tikvahiae (Rhodophyta)

Abstract

In a series of multifactorial laboratory experiments, Gracilaria tikvahiae apical segments were grown in an apparatus in which they were exposed simultaneously to 3 simulated current speeds (7.5, 15, 22.5 cm s-1) and a still control, and either 3 ammonium concentrations (<6, 37–39, and 119–136 μM) under ample uniform light (ca 200 μE m-2 s-1) or 3 light intensities (ca 35, 90, and 270 μE m-2 s-1) with uniform surplus ammonium. Growth rates of apical segments were determined in each experiment as well as nitrogen and carbon composition of tissues and fluxes of NH4, NO3/NO2, and PO4 in media. In a supplementary series of field experiments, apical segments of G. tikvahiae weresimultaneously exposed to 2 different regimes of water motion in adjacent chambers at several sites characterized by widely different ammonium regimes. The application of simulated current significantly enhanced growth rates in all experiments which utilized recently collected plants. Generally, this enhancement was fully realized at 7.5 cm s-1, with growth rates tending to plateau above that speed. Growth enhancement by simulated current was independent of ammonium concentration and was considerably reduced at the lowest light intensity. In experiments conducted with plants that had been maintained for several months in aquaria, simulated current failed to enhance growth rates. This suggested that growth responses were at least partly a function of prior conditioning. Growth rates were a direct function of light intensity and an inverse function of ammonium concentration, indicating ammonium inhibition at the higher applied concentrations. Simulated current slightly enhanced rates of ammonium uptake but this did not consistently result in reduced C:N ratios, suggesting that the growth-stimulating effect of relative water motion was attributable to factors other than N uptake. There was evidence of luxury consumption of ammonium. In field experiments, growth rates were not significantly related to exposure to water motion.