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Marine photosynthesis. With special emphasis on the ecological aspects
Aquatic Botany, 3 (1977) 291--295 291 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands Book Reviews
Marine Photosynthesis. With Special Emphasis on the Ecological Aspects. E. Steemann Nielsen. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1975, ix + 141 pp. Elsevier Oceanography Series 13. Price U.S. $ 21.75. Dfl. 52,--. ISBN 0-444-41320-0 The book consists of fifteen short chapters. After a review of Prof. Oparin's theory about the origin of life, and an elementary picture of the phylogenetic sequence of plants (Chap. 1), the second chapter is a good and condensed presentation of the processes in photosynthesis (photochemical and enzymatical), the electron transport and the pigments active in it. The various types of vegetation in the sea (Chap. 5) are followed by a well-balanced chapter dealing with the pigments found in the taxonomic groups of marine plants and their inportance for photosynthesis, with good examples on q u a n t u m yields as a function of light wavelength, absorption and action spectra in all different algal groups, as well as the ecological consequences. The uptake of CO2 and HCO3- during photosynthesis, and a short reference to salinity and the uptake of carbon, are briefly presented in five pages {Chap. 7) Light adsorption and related processes constitute the bulk of the book {more than one third of text pages) and begins with underwater light. This chapter (Chap. 3) is nothing but an incomplete abstract of Prof. Jerlov's book on "Optical Oceanography" (Elsevier Oceanography Series No. 5, 1968). Photic zone is not presented along with a graph, which would have been very convenient, as well as its lower limit is defined only from the photosynthesis point of view and not from residual algal biomass growth, as could have been done too. The following chapter deals with the units to be used for the irradiance in marine photosynthesis, but International System units (such as J m-2 s-~ ) are not presented, although many others are stated instead. The calorie is misdefined. A good discussion is presented on the use and limitations of the lux, resulting in a recommendation to abandon this unit. The rate of photosynthesis as a function of irradiance (Chap. 9) is a solid exposition of the problem, with remarks about chlorophyll concentration and rate of photosynthesis at low irradiances, diurnal variation in photosynthetic activity and the influence of day length, ultraviolet and polarized light. There is also included a good and well d o c u m e n t e d chapter on physiological adaptation to irradiance (Chap. 10), and another one (Chap.13) on the utilization of submarine light for photosynthesis. In the latter one there are discussed, out of place in the reviewer's opinion, other environmental factors such as replenishment of nutrients, water mixing and zooplankton grazing effects on phoo tosynthesis. There are also mentioned Steele's and Talling's theoretical pho-
292 tosynthesis-light equations, but none of them is presented. No mention is made of Prof. Levring's quotients of light quality utilization by marine macroscopic plants. In Chapter 11, devoted to physiological adaptation to temperature, phytoplanktonic species are adequately treated, but it cannot be said the same for macroscopic algae. In this case, examples are very old (Kniep, 1916; Lampe, 1935) and not even the best ones, and the outstanding works by the late Dr. Eizi Ogata are neglected. The interaction of photosynthesis with other processes taking place in plants, with special reference to respiration (Chap. 8) presents nothing about photosynthesis / respiration ratios, and although there is a clear distinction between dark respiration and photorespiration, nothing about light wavelength is presented in relation with the latter one. Chapter 12, dealing with the measurement of the rate of photosynthesis in marine plants, is short, controversial and flashy on a very important aspect, and should be one of the initial ones, according to the reviewer's criterion. No distinction is even made between net and gross photosynthesis, and too many references are made to Dr. Vollenweider's book (IBP Handbook No. 12, 1974) instead of presenting short and documented comments on available and standard methods. Some confusion is introduced about what 14 CO: incorporation measures, since it is indistinctly stated that it corresponds to an absolute measure of the intensity of photosynthesis, and to net production. There is not a single mention of photosynthetic or respiratory quotients, or of manometric techniques, and reference to methods for aquatic macrophytes as well as to benthic microalgal production, is minimal. The rate of primary production in the sea (Chap. 14) is a good and well documented review on the subject, and the last chapter presents a realistic exposition on the food web in the sea, and the world fisheries potential yields. The production of macroalgae is only briefly treated. The book is biased in different aspects, since the bulk of all references are papers produced in western Europe (60%) and U.S.A. (29%), and references to tropical ecosystems are scarce. At the same time, two thirds of figures, graphs and examples deal with areas from Denmark, the Baltic Sea, the North Atlantic, northern Europe, Arctic and Antarctic areas, and coastal areas are only 1% of all. Almost 70% of presented information refers to phytoplankton (either marine or freshwater) and not a single paper presented to any International Seaweed Symposium is included. It is a book with oceanic, rather than marine, and p h y t o p l a n k t o n scope and macroscopic marine plants and coastal environments are only dealt with as side-line subjects. This can be considered as a drawback in the general scope of the book. As stated in the "Preface", it is impossible for the book to be regarded as exhaustive. Nevertheless, there are fundamental aspects that are not mentioned, such as size fractionation of photosynthesizing p h y t o p l a n k t o n or the relative importance of nannoplankton and net plankton as primary
293
producers. Amongst ecological aspects, light, temperature and CO2 system are conveniently discussed, b u t there are only few references to others, such as nutrients, mixing, zooplankton grazing, and only one mention about the "and mass effect". Some parts of the book, at least, were written for specialists; the rest was conceived for advanced students, which is an inconsequence. Nevertheless, Prof. E. Steemann Nielsen, with more than forty years of work with marine and freshwater primary production and photosynthesis, has been able to produce an interesting short b o o k on a very large subject, which will be worth reading by any advanced student or specialist in biological oceanography. The b o o k can also be considered as an example of high quality printing work with good subject and author indexes. R.J. B U E S A
(La Habana, Cuba)
TERMINOLOGY OF ALGAE
A Glossary of Phycological Terms for Students of Marine Macroalgae. A.E. Hine. Technical report 76-4, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 1976, 80 pp. Price $ 3.00. Glossaries and scientific dictionaries become more and more a necessity for the younger generations of scientists. Particularly y o u n g biologists are nowadays suffering from the fact that they have to use a terminology largely derived from Greek and Latin, " d e a d " languages for which there is no longer a place in the rational educational schemes of the 20th century. Glossaries of technical terms may help them to pad their lack of cultural background. The glossary of phycological terms certainly will not serve the latter purpose because the origin of the words is not given. From a technical point of view the glossary is good. It contains accurate descriptions of a great number of terms; only a few terms in use within restricted groups are missing. Copies may be obtained from Mrs. V.H. Hine, 9315 S.W. 61 Court, Miami, Fla. 33156, U.S.A. C. DEN H A R T O G
(Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
Marine Photosynthesis. With Special Emphasis on the Ecological Aspects. E. Steemann Nielsen. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1975, ix + 141 pp. Elsevier Oceanography Series 13. Price U.S. $ 21.75. Dfl. 52,--. ISBN 0-444-41320-0 The book consists of fifteen short chapters. After a review of Prof. Oparin's theory about the origin of life, and an elementary picture of the phylogenetic sequence of plants (Chap. 1), the second chapter is a good and condensed presentation of the processes in photosynthesis (photochemical and enzymatical), the electron transport and the pigments active in it. The various types of vegetation in the sea (Chap. 5) are followed by a well-balanced chapter dealing with the pigments found in the taxonomic groups of marine plants and their inportance for photosynthesis, with good examples on q u a n t u m yields as a function of light wavelength, absorption and action spectra in all different algal groups, as well as the ecological consequences. The uptake of CO2 and HCO3- during photosynthesis, and a short reference to salinity and the uptake of carbon, are briefly presented in five pages {Chap. 7) Light adsorption and related processes constitute the bulk of the book {more than one third of text pages) and begins with underwater light. This chapter (Chap. 3) is nothing but an incomplete abstract of Prof. Jerlov's book on "Optical Oceanography" (Elsevier Oceanography Series No. 5, 1968). Photic zone is not presented along with a graph, which would have been very convenient, as well as its lower limit is defined only from the photosynthesis point of view and not from residual algal biomass growth, as could have been done too. The following chapter deals with the units to be used for the irradiance in marine photosynthesis, but International System units (such as J m-2 s-~ ) are not presented, although many others are stated instead. The calorie is misdefined. A good discussion is presented on the use and limitations of the lux, resulting in a recommendation to abandon this unit. The rate of photosynthesis as a function of irradiance (Chap. 9) is a solid exposition of the problem, with remarks about chlorophyll concentration and rate of photosynthesis at low irradiances, diurnal variation in photosynthetic activity and the influence of day length, ultraviolet and polarized light. There is also included a good and well d o c u m e n t e d chapter on physiological adaptation to irradiance (Chap. 10), and another one (Chap.13) on the utilization of submarine light for photosynthesis. In the latter one there are discussed, out of place in the reviewer's opinion, other environmental factors such as replenishment of nutrients, water mixing and zooplankton grazing effects on phoo tosynthesis. There are also mentioned Steele's and Talling's theoretical pho-
292 tosynthesis-light equations, but none of them is presented. No mention is made of Prof. Levring's quotients of light quality utilization by marine macroscopic plants. In Chapter 11, devoted to physiological adaptation to temperature, phytoplanktonic species are adequately treated, but it cannot be said the same for macroscopic algae. In this case, examples are very old (Kniep, 1916; Lampe, 1935) and not even the best ones, and the outstanding works by the late Dr. Eizi Ogata are neglected. The interaction of photosynthesis with other processes taking place in plants, with special reference to respiration (Chap. 8) presents nothing about photosynthesis / respiration ratios, and although there is a clear distinction between dark respiration and photorespiration, nothing about light wavelength is presented in relation with the latter one. Chapter 12, dealing with the measurement of the rate of photosynthesis in marine plants, is short, controversial and flashy on a very important aspect, and should be one of the initial ones, according to the reviewer's criterion. No distinction is even made between net and gross photosynthesis, and too many references are made to Dr. Vollenweider's book (IBP Handbook No. 12, 1974) instead of presenting short and documented comments on available and standard methods. Some confusion is introduced about what 14 CO: incorporation measures, since it is indistinctly stated that it corresponds to an absolute measure of the intensity of photosynthesis, and to net production. There is not a single mention of photosynthetic or respiratory quotients, or of manometric techniques, and reference to methods for aquatic macrophytes as well as to benthic microalgal production, is minimal. The rate of primary production in the sea (Chap. 14) is a good and well documented review on the subject, and the last chapter presents a realistic exposition on the food web in the sea, and the world fisheries potential yields. The production of macroalgae is only briefly treated. The book is biased in different aspects, since the bulk of all references are papers produced in western Europe (60%) and U.S.A. (29%), and references to tropical ecosystems are scarce. At the same time, two thirds of figures, graphs and examples deal with areas from Denmark, the Baltic Sea, the North Atlantic, northern Europe, Arctic and Antarctic areas, and coastal areas are only 1% of all. Almost 70% of presented information refers to phytoplankton (either marine or freshwater) and not a single paper presented to any International Seaweed Symposium is included. It is a book with oceanic, rather than marine, and p h y t o p l a n k t o n scope and macroscopic marine plants and coastal environments are only dealt with as side-line subjects. This can be considered as a drawback in the general scope of the book. As stated in the "Preface", it is impossible for the book to be regarded as exhaustive. Nevertheless, there are fundamental aspects that are not mentioned, such as size fractionation of photosynthesizing p h y t o p l a n k t o n or the relative importance of nannoplankton and net plankton as primary
293
producers. Amongst ecological aspects, light, temperature and CO2 system are conveniently discussed, b u t there are only few references to others, such as nutrients, mixing, zooplankton grazing, and only one mention about the "and mass effect". Some parts of the book, at least, were written for specialists; the rest was conceived for advanced students, which is an inconsequence. Nevertheless, Prof. E. Steemann Nielsen, with more than forty years of work with marine and freshwater primary production and photosynthesis, has been able to produce an interesting short b o o k on a very large subject, which will be worth reading by any advanced student or specialist in biological oceanography. The b o o k can also be considered as an example of high quality printing work with good subject and author indexes. R.J. B U E S A
(La Habana, Cuba)
TERMINOLOGY OF ALGAE
A Glossary of Phycological Terms for Students of Marine Macroalgae. A.E. Hine. Technical report 76-4, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 1976, 80 pp. Price $ 3.00. Glossaries and scientific dictionaries become more and more a necessity for the younger generations of scientists. Particularly y o u n g biologists are nowadays suffering from the fact that they have to use a terminology largely derived from Greek and Latin, " d e a d " languages for which there is no longer a place in the rational educational schemes of the 20th century. Glossaries of technical terms may help them to pad their lack of cultural background. The glossary of phycological terms certainly will not serve the latter purpose because the origin of the words is not given. From a technical point of view the glossary is good. It contains accurate descriptions of a great number of terms; only a few terms in use within restricted groups are missing. Copies may be obtained from Mrs. V.H. Hine, 9315 S.W. 61 Court, Miami, Fla. 33156, U.S.A. C. DEN H A R T O G
(Nijmegen, The Netherlands)