Effect of Temperature on the Growth Rate of Licmophora abbreviata

Abstract

Licmophora abbreviata is a photosynthetic diatom found in marine euphotic zones. Diatoms are responsible for nearly half of the primary production in oceans, a process that forms the foundation of food webs in aquatic ecosystems. To understand how increasing global temperatures will impact the growth of algae and salmon, we grew L. abbreviata at different treatment temperatures. Three incubation temperature treatments were 11°C, 17°C (optimal), and 20°C. Three replicates, containing the HESNW nutrient solution were incubated for 10 days. We counted the number of diatom cells using the hemocytometer at 11 AM every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The growth rate for 11°C, 17°C and 20°C over a course of 8 days were 4300, 5800 and -230 cells/mL/day respectively. The highest growth rate occurred in the 17°C treatment. Our one-way ANOVA analysis of the results (p < 0.05) indicates that there is a significant difference between the three temperature treatments. Therefore, we rejected our null hypothesis. However, after further analysis, we did not find a significant difference between 11°C and 17°C treatments. We observed no significant growth for the 20°C treatment.