Microenvironmental Ecology

Quantum Efficiency and Bio-Optics of Aquatic Phototrophs

Sapere-Aude Advanced Grant
Danish Council for Independent Research / Natural Science (FNU)

Microsensor on coral

Timeline

2014

Paulos Cartaxana and Sonia Cruz
join the group as postdocs

Nadia Nord & Paull Cifuentes
join the group as MSc Students

Johannes Goessling
joins the group as PhD student

Ditte Bjerregaard and Karolina Reducha
join the group as MSc students

Postdoc position
announced

Technician Sofie Lindegaard Jakobsen
joins the group

Project funding starts (01/2014)

2013

Project homepage online (12/2013)

First positions announced

PhD student Mads Lichtenberg &
Postdoc Klaus Koren join the group

Official grant announcement (06/2013)
Danish / English

The project investigates fundamental links between the microscale organization of aquatic photosynthetic tissues and biofilm communities, their bio-optical properties and quantum efficiency.
A central question is:

Do aquatic photosynthetic tissues and biofilm communities exhibit similar links between structure and function as found in terrestrial plants and canopies?

Based on a detailed characterization of how incident irradiance is absorbed, scattered and dissipated via photosynthesis and non-photochemical energy dissipation (fluorescence and heat), complete energy budgets will be constructed and related to the micro-structural organization of cells and chloroplasts in aquatic plant tissue, compact photosynthetic biofilms, and coral tissue harboring photosymbionts.

The experimental approach is based on advanced microsensor and bioimaging methodology, and involves detailed analyses linking microstructural heterogeneity to the performance and efficiency of surface associated aquatic phototrophs.

more details..