Effect of underwater light quality on Stentor araucanus primary production

MODENUTTI, BE; BALSEIRO, E.G; CALLIERI, C.; BERTONI, R.; QUEIMALINOS, CP

Lahti

Congreso; XXIX SIL Congress; 2004

The photosynthetic eciency of the UV-B resistant planktonic ciliate Stentor araucanus was investigated using laboratory and eld experiments in Lake Moreno Oeste (41 5´ S and 71 33´ W, North Patagonia, Argentina).S. araucanus was observed to prefer the epilimnetic levels of the water column (10 m) reaching at this level the maximum NPP. Despite the high survival of the ciliate exposed to short wavelengths, NPP decreased at higher irradiances (both UV-B and PAR). Thus, epilimnetic colonization of Andean lakes by S. araucanus represents a tradeo between higher survival and lower cell-specic NPP.