Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Major/Program

Biology

First Advisor's Name

James W. Fourqurean

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Kelsey Downum

Third Advisor's Name

Steven Oberbauer

Date of Defense

11-13-2006

Abstract

I investigated how photosynthetic performance of Thalassia testudinum changed along a naturally occurring salinity gradient in Florida Bay, and to laboratory controlled hyper and hypo-osmotic stress. I found significant differences between sites in Florida Bay for yield ratios (Y and Fv/Fm); however, this difference does not seem to be based on the salinity regime, since sites with the greatest salinity range were not significantly different from the site with the lowest salinity range. Laboratory results showed declines in the minimum and maximum fluorescence values after a gradual ramping-up of salinity and after long-term exposure to a sustained drop in salinity, but these declines were not seen with the Y and Fv/Fm ratios.

Caution should be used when drawing conclusions about physiological stress from results obtained by PAM fluorometry, as acclimation may play a large role in the fluorescence response, limiting the use of this technique.

Identifier

FI14052512

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this dissertation or thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to dcc@fiu.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Download

Included in

Biology Commons

Share

COinS
 

Rights Statement

Rights Statement

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).