Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T11:01:54.205Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Alkaline phosphatase activity in the western English Channel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

Anthony G. Davies  and
M. Ann Smith
Anthony G. Davies
Affiliation:
The Laboratory, Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB
M. Ann Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Goldsmiths' College, New Cross, London SE14 6NW
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The spatial and vertical distributions of alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) in the western English Channel in July 1987 were determined using 2 μM 3-O-methylfluorescein phosphate as substrate. The response of APA to increases in substrate concentration followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics but differences in Ks values between stations suggested a species dependency of the half-saturation constant. Phosphate inhibition of APA was, however, similar at 3 locations. The chlorophyll specific APA (SAPA) in surface waters ranged from 0.004 to 0.57 nMPO43- μg chla-1 min-1 and was inversely exponentially related to the chlorophyll a concentration reflecting the fact that phytoplankton populations are largest where inorganic nutrient availability is greatest and synthesis of the enzyme is not derepressed. SAPA values were found to be low in the bloom of Gyrodinium aureolum in the Ushant front and in the sub-surface chlorophyll maximum in the stratified region. Vertical distributions of SAPA are discussed in terms of the hydrographic characteristics of the water column and an attempt has been made to distinguish between APA associated with phytoplankton and with bacteria.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , May 1988 , pp. 239 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Butler, E. I., Knox, S. & Liddicoat, M. I., 1979. The relationship between inorganic and organic nutrients in sea water. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 59, 239–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixon, M. & Webb, E. C., 1979. Enzymes, 3rd ed.London: Longman.Google Scholar
Holligan, P. M., Harris, R. P., Newell, R. C., Harbour, D. S., Head, R. N., Linley, E. A. S., Lucas, M. I., Tranter, P. R. G. & Weekley, C. M., 1984. Vertical distribution and partitioning of organic carbon in mixed, frontal and stratified waters of the English Channel. Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 14, 111–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holligan, P. M., Williams, P. J. Le B., Purdie, D. & Harris, R. P., 1984. Photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen supply of plankton populations in stratified, frontal and tidally mixed shelf waters. Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 17, 201–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kobori, H. & Taga, N., 1979. Phosphatase activity and its role in the mineralization of organic phosphorus in coastal sea water. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 36, 23–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuenzler, E. J. & Perras, J. P., 1965. Phosphatases of marine algae. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass., 128, 271–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Møller, M., Myklestad, S. & Haug, A., 1975. Alkaline and acid phosphatases of the marine diatoms Chaetoceros affinis var. willei (Gran) Hustedt and Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 19, 217–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myklestad, S. & Sakshaug, E., 1983. Alkaline phosphatase activity of Skeletonema costatum populations in the Trondheimfjord. Journal of Plankton Research, 5, 557–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, M. J., 1972. Alkaline phosphatase activity in subtropical Central Pacific waters using a sensitive fluorometric method. Marine Biology, 15, 113–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pingree, R. D., Maddock, L. & Butler, E. I., 1977. The influence of biological activity and physical stability in determining the chemical distributions of inorganic phosphate, silicate and nitrate. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 57, 1065–1073.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pingree, R. D. & Mardell, G. T., 1981. Slope turbulence, internal waves and phytoplankton growth at the Celtic Sea shelf-break. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (A), 302, 663–682.Google Scholar
Rivkin, R. B. & Swift, E., 1979. Diel and vertical patterns of alkaline phosphatase activity in the oceanic dinoflagellate Pyrocystis noctiluca. Limnology and Oceanography, 24, 107–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rivkin, R. B. & Swift, E., 1980. Characterization of alkaline phosphatase and organic phosphorus utilization in the ocean dinoflagellate Pyrocystis noctiluca. Marine Biology, 61, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strickland, J. D. H. & Parsons, T. R., 1972. A practical handbook of seawater analysis, 2nd ed.Bulletin. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, no. 167, 310 pp.Google Scholar
Taft, J. L., Loftus, M. E. & Taylor, W. R., 1977. Phosphate uptake from phosphomonoesters by phytoplankton in the Chesapeake Bay. Limnology and Oceanography, 22, 1012–1021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taga, N. & Kobori, H., 1978. Phosphatase activity in eutrophic Tokyo Bay. Marine Biology, 49, 223–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargo, G. A. & Shanley, E., 1985. Alkaline phosphatase activity in the red-tide dinoflagellate Ptychodiscus brevis. Marine Ecology, Naples, 6, 251–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venrick, E. L., Beers, J. R. & Heinbokel, J. F., 1977. Possible consequences of containing microplankton for physiological rate measurements. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 26, 55–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar