Temperature dependence of the parameters of laser-induced fluorescence and species composition of phytoplankton: The theory and the experiments

Abstract

The article discusses the opportunity to determine the species composition of a mixture of microalgae by using the temperature dependence of their laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). Experimental temperature dependences of fluorescence were obtained for the following microalgae: Picochlorum maculatum, Dunaliella salina, Chlorella minutissima, Tetraselmis viridis, Porphyridium purpureum, and Rhodomonas salina. It has been shown that the temperature dependence of fluorescence intensity of chlorophyll a in microalgae is reflective of the specific processes in cells of different microalgae species. A mathematical model for the temperature dependence of microalgae fluorescence and its relationship with the processes occurring in microalgae cells when heated has been formulated. The model allows determining the composition of mixtures with sufficient accuracy, as was shown experimentally on test mixtures of microalgae cultures.