Abstract
Phytoplankton exudates into culture media and extracts from littoral algae are shown to contain significant quantities of extracellular materials having molecular weights in excess of 50,000. A recent development in experimental fluid mechanics (the reduction of turbulent friction coefficients of flowing solutions by dissolved macromolecules) has been utilized as a specific test for high molecular weight compounds. Phytoplankton species in all major algal groups could be found which exude high molecular weight compounds into their culture media; the red alga Porphyridium cruentum typically produced friction reductions as high as 60%. Seaweed samples in the Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta showed major changes in turbulent friction coefficient; in some cases the friction was less than 1/2 that of pure seawater. All samples of the genus Porphyra and Gigartina produced substantial friction changes. From these experiments it is concluded that algal exudates can be a prominent source of high molecular weight compounds in the sea.
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