Abstract
Growth rates of nutrient-depleted cells of Biddulphia sinensis Greville and Ceratium furca (Ehrenberg) Claparède et Lachmann as a function of phosphate and nitrate, follow the hyperbolic expression of the Michaelis-Menten equation. variations in the half-saturation constants (K s) for both species in each nutrient gave an index of their capacity to utilize these two nutrients when available either singly or in combination. The maximum growth rates (μmax) of the two species did not follow the trends shown by K s. Seasonal abundance of the two species in the Cochin Backwater (an Indian tropical estuary) showed that, at low concentrations of nutrients, C. furca becomes predominant; high nutrient concentrations present in the estuary during the monsoon months tend to increase the abundance of B. sinensis. The differences in the K s values of the two organisms seem to reflect their observed seasonal abundance in the estuary.
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Communicated by N. K. Panikkar, Panaji
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Qasim, S.Z., Bhattathiri, P.M.A. & Devassy, V.P. Growth kinetics and nutrient requirements of two tropical marine phytoplankters. Mar. Biol. 21, 299–304 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381086
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381086