Abstract
The photosynthetic capacity of phytoplankton was measured at an anchor station in the Middle Estuary of the St Lawrence, over a period of 120 h. Hourly incubations were made in constant light conditions, under three different colour filters of 3, 4 and 23 W · m −2. Differences in the oscillations of the photosynthetic capacities were observed in relation to the tidal regime. During spring tide, variations in the photosynthetic capacity are circadian, whereas a tidal pattern was also observed during the neap tide period. Differences in the patterns of photosynthetic capacity were probably due to changes in the gradients of physical factors and to the physiological state of phytoplankton relative to these gradients. The circadian rhythms appeared to be endogenous since they were apparent at non-saturating light intensities and since the photosynthetic potential ( U max ) changed during the day.
Published Version
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