Effects of Inorganic Phosphorus and Nitrogen on the Growth of an Estuarine Cladophora in Culture

Abstract

Response of Cladophora to different P and N regimes under otherwise non-limiting conditions in cultures of artificial seawater suggests that growth rates would be limited in the field by P and N concentrations in the water column above the algae, but not in the algal bed. Treatment with P over the range 0 to 0.25 mg l super(-1) (with 5.0 mg l super(-1) N) and N over the range 0 to 5.0 mg l super(-1) (with 0.5 mg l super(-1) P) produced yields proportional to increasing concentrations.