Attenuation of light influences the size of Microcystis colonies

Ganyu Feng; Wei Zhu; Siyuan Hu; Zongpu Xue; Ruochen Wang; Huaimin Chen

doi:10.1016/j.hal.2019.101667

Attenuation of light influences the size of Microcystis colonies

Harmful Algae. 2019 Nov:89:101667. doi: 10.1016/j.hal.2019.101667. Epub 2019 Oct 4.

Authors

Ganyu Feng¹, Wei Zhu², Siyuan Hu¹, Zongpu Xue³, Ruochen Wang⁴, Huaimin Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, Jiangsu, China; Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu, China.
² College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: zhuweiteam.hhu@gmail.com.
³ College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, Jiangsu, China.
⁴ College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, Jiangsu, China.

PMID: 31672232
DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2019.101667

Abstract

Colony formation provides excellent advantages for the dominance of Microcystis. However, studies on microenvironments during the process of colony formation are rare, especially regarding intra-colony light usage. This study analyzed the attenuation of light intensity in Microcystis colonies, where most objects followed Lambert-Beer law ( [Formula: see text] ). Intra-colony light limited the maximum thickness of the colony (B_Max=4.3×10⁵c^-1) and thus affected colony size. Field data showed that the colony size for M. ichthyoblabe was small and limited to approximately 300 μm, while larger colonies were mainly formed by M. aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii respectively. These results imply that the strategies used by morphospecies to allow colonies to tolerate intra-colony light limitation might be different; M. aeruginosa benefited from a reticular growth pattern, and M. wesenbergii colonies were large (500 μm), obtaining a large thickness by lowering cell concentration. The results obtained in this work suggest that M. aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii had more advantages regarding intra-colony light usage, colony size level and bloom formation ability in summer and autumn.

Keywords: Cell concentration; Colony size; Light attenuation; Microcystis; Morphology; Thickness.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Microcystis*
Seasons