Ultraviolet-B radiation resistance of benthic diatoms isolated from tidal flats in the Dutch Wadden Sea

Seven species representative of the benthic diatom community of the tidal flats in the Dutch Wadden Sea hardly differed in their sensitivity to ultraviolet-B radiation (UVBR). Some isolates had been cultured in the laboratory for up to 20 yr. Cell numbers of all species increased at a rate similar to unexposed cultures up to a DNA-weighted daily UVBR dose of 3.5 kJ m(-2) d(-1) (biologically effective dose, normalized at 300 nm); only at higher UVB irradiance levels did the growth rate become reduced. No clear relationship between mean cell size and UVBR sensitivity was observed. The benthic di... Mehr ...