Sack Lunch Seminar (SLS)

Abstract:
I use a theoretical model of a phytoplankton cell to explore how important traits vary due to adaptation to different irradiance regimes and cell size. The model predicts differences between organisms adapted to very stable light environments, and organisms adapted to dynamic light. Model predictions are consistent with observations of Prochlorococcus, which inhabit the relatively stable oligotrophic gyres, and diatoms, which occur in variable light regimes. The degree of variability in irradiance is likely to have influenced phytoplankton adaptation.