Relationships between critical photon irradiance for growth and daily compensation point of juvenile Sargassum macrocarpum

SUMMARY: This study was designed to determine the critical photon irradiance for growth and daily compensation point of juvenile Sargassum macrocarpum . Sampling and measurement of natural light conditions were carried out in the S. macrocarpum population at a depth of 8 m off Kiwado in Fukawa Bay, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, from April to June 1998. Photosynthesis and respiration of the juvenile thalli, and diurnal changes in solar irradiance were measured for the same period. The critical photon irradiance for growth of the juvenile thalli observed on the population floor was 1.0–1.5% on the sea surface. The photosynthetic rate of leaf of juvenile thalli increased linearly with increasing photon irradiance when light levels were lower than 50 μM/m² per s. The respiratory rate and light compensation point of the juvenile thalli were 2.49 μL O₂/cm² per h and 4.98 μM/m² per s, respectively. The daily compensation point was estimated with a mathematical model based on photosynthesis–light equations and diurnal changes in solar irradiance. For a day of average solar irradiance over the period of the present study, the estimated daily compensation point of the juvenile thalli was 1.3% on the sea surface. This value agreed well with the observed critical photon irradiance for growth of juvenile S . macrocarpum on the population floor. The results of the study confirm that the mathematical model is effective for estimating the daily compensation point.