Photosynthetic responses of ‘Neosiphonia sp. epiphyte-infected’ and healthy Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta) to irradiance, salinity and pH variations
Abstract
Understanding the physiological condition of seaweeds as influenced by biotic and abiotic stress is vital from the perspective of massive expansion and sustainability of seaweed-based industries. The photosynthetic responses ofNeosiphonia sp. epiphyte-infected (INF) and healthy (HEA) Kappaphycus alvarezii under various combinations of irradiance, salinity and pH were studied using photosynthesis-irradiance (P-E) curves. Measurements of algal photosynthetic rates, expressed in terms of amount of oxygen production per fresh weight biomass per unit time (mg O2 g−1 FW h−1), were carried out using the light-dark bottle technique. Neosiphonia-infected K. alvarezii (INF) had lower photosynthetic rates than healthy ones (HEA). Similarities (p > 0.05) in light-saturated photosynthesis rates (Pmax) and significant differences (p < 0.05) in initial slope of curve (α) between INF and HEAK. alvarezii suggest that both samples are adapted to similar light conditions and differs only on photosynthetic efficiency. Low Pmax (0.7–2.0 mg O2 g−1 FW h−1) and high initial saturation irradiances (Ek = 90–519 μmol photons m−2 s−1) of INF seaweeds resulted to their low photosynthetic efficiency (α = 0.002–0.010). Such decline in α is attributed to the epiphyte, as Neosiphonia sp. covered almost the entire surface of K. alvarezii. An increase in chlorophyll-a (35–42.1 vs. 27.7–31.5 μg g−1 FW, HEA) and phycobilin (1.96–2.39 vs. 1.16–1.58 mg g−1 FW, HEA) contents was also observed in INF samples, suggesting acclimation to low-irradiance conditions, as a result of competition for light between the epiphyte and host. Both INF and HEA K. alvarezii also exhibited broad photosynthetic tolerance to short-term changes in irradiance, with no photoinhibition at the highest irradiance of 850 μmol photons m−2 s−1. K. alvarezii had a euryhaline photosynthetic response, with optimum salinity of 35 psu. Photosynthetic rates increased with decreasing pH, revealing K. alvarezii’s ability to modify its photosynthetic affinity for acidic seawater conditions; yet, their underlying mechanism of response to pH shifts still need to be further examined.
Citation
Borlongan, I. A. G., Luhan, M. R. J., Padilla, P. I. P., & Hurtado, A. Q. (2016). Photosynthetic responses of ‘Neosiphonia sp. epiphyte-infected’ and healthy Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta) to irradiance, salinity and pH variations.Publisher
Springer VerlagSubject
Acknowledgment/Sponsorship
This research was funded in part by the University of the Philippines-Visayas (UPV) through the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension and Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department. This research was the thesis submitted by the first author in fulfilment of her degree in Master of Science in Biology at UPV.
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Article
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A preliminary summary on Kappaphycus farming and the impact of epiphytes
-Japanese Journal of Phycology , 2004 - Japanese Society of PhycologyThe read seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex. P.C. Silva, commonly called "cottonii" in the processing industry, is used as raw material for the production of the hydrocolloid kappa carrageenan. Through biotechnological advaces, certain carrageenan-producing seaweeds have been truly "domesticated" and are now successfully farmed as marine crops in a number of suitable areas of the world. Significant and sustainable employment opportunities are generated by these activities with few environmental impacts. In mid-2001, the incidence of very heavy epiphytism of cultivated raw material of K. alvarezii (cottonii) was reported for a production centre in the Philippines. This case of epiphytism was "unusual" in that it had been present for a considerable period of time and following epiphyte growth, the seaweed crop began to rot and fall off the cultivation lines (this was not the case of the disease "ice-ice"). The outbreak of the epiphyte infestation followed successional development of an epiphyte community and resulted in a climax population of the read seaweed Polysiphonia sp. This was observed to be preceded by heavy precipitation with consequent siltation reaching the farm site. The presence of the Polysiphonia sp. gave the plants a "hairy" appearance. Where the Polysiphonia was attached, the host plant seemed to produce "galls". The end result was that the Kappaphycus material rotted, fragmented and fell off the cultivation lines. The impact of this epiphyte attack was economically, socially and ecologically serious in that the farmers became disillusioned and either moved from the islands to other cultivation sites, leaving their families behind, or returned to the environmentally damaging practices of dynamite and or cyanide reef fishing. This paper outlines the events of epiphytic settlement and subsequent decomposition of the crop plants. The impact of Kappaphycus farming in the north-east Philippines is outlined as well as steps undertaken to improve the farming practice and enable farmers to return to the sustainable activity of seaweed farming.
