Table 2.
Description of the phytoplankton species cultured in this study under iron-limited conditions in order to probe the bioavailability of dissolved iron (dFe) in natural seawater.
| Phylum | Species | Environment | Fe-limited cell size | Fe-limited growth rate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abbreviated | Strain | Diameter (µm) | S.A. (µm2) | µ (d−1) | % from µmax | ||
| Dinoflagellata | Prorocentrum micans | PM | CCMP 692 | Coastal |
22–25(H) 11–13(D) |
1000 1300 |
0.24–0.28 | 66–78% |
| Bacillariophyta | Thalassiosira weissflogii | TW | CCMP 1047 | Coastal | 10.8–11.2 | 364–392 | 0.63–0.69 | 75–82% |
| Bacillariophyta | Thalassiosira oceanica | TO | CCMP 1003 | Open ocean | 4.9–5.2 | 75–84 | 0.83–0.85 | 67–70% |
| Bacillariophyta | Thalassiosira pseudonana | TP | NEPCC 58 | Open ocean | 4.7–5.2 | 70–78 | 0.73–0.75 | 65–67% |
| Haptophyta | Chrysochromulina polylepis | CP | NEPCC 242 | Coastal/ open | 3.9–4.1 | 47–53 | 0.33–0.39 | 41–49% |
| Haptophyta | Phaeocystis pouchetii | PP | NEPCC 225 | Open ocean | 3.9–4.3 | 48–58 | 0.50–0.55 | 59–65% |
| Chlorophyta | Micromonas sp. | Mic | CCMP 2709 | Open ocean | 1.4–2.3 | 6–16 | 0.33–0.39 | 50–59% |
“Environment” refers to the oceanic ecosystem where these species typically grow. Cells diameter was measured with a Coulter Counter and was converted to surface area (S.A.) assuming a spherical shape (except for Prorocentrum micans, where a prolate sphere equation was applied). A range of growth rates is reported for the cultures that were kept in exponential growth under Fe-limiting conditions for at least 25 generations prior to the uptake experiments.