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Predictions of the ocean-atmosphere flux of dimethyl sulfide will be improved by understanding what controls seasonal and regional variations in dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) production. To investigate the influence of high levels of irradiance including ultraviolet radiation (UVR), on DMSP synthesis rates (mu DMSP) and inorganic carbon fixation (mu POC) by natural phytoplankton communities, nine experiments were carried out at different locations in the low nutrient, high light environment of the northeastern Tropical Atlantic. Rates of mu DMSP and mu POC were determined by measuring the incorporation of inorganic C-13 into DMSP and particulate organic carbon. Based on measurements over discrete time intervals during the day, a unique mu DMSP vs. irradiance (P vs. E) relationship was established. Comparison is made with the P vs. E relationship for mu POC, indicating that light saturation of DMSP occurs at similar irradiance to mu POC and is closely coupled to carbon fixation on a diel basis. Photoinhibition during the middle of the day was exacerbated by exposure to UVR, causing an additional 55-60% inhibition of both mu DMSP and mu POC at the highest light levels. In addition, decreased production of DMSP in response to UVR-induced photoxidative stress, contrasted with the increased net synthesis of photoprotective xanthophyll pigments. Together these results indicate that DMSP production by phytoplankton in the tropical ocean is not regulated in the short term by the necessity to control increasing photooxidative stress as irradiance increases during the day. The study provides new insight into the regulation of resource allocation into this biogeochemically important, multi-functional compatible solute.

G. E. Hutchinson raised the paradox of how a number of phytoplankton species competing for the same resources are able to coexist in a relatively isotropic environment. As a key for solving the paradox, we focused on the limiting similarity which prohibits the coexistence of similar species. We expected that the limiting similarity will be mitigated by some factors which are not represented in traditional theoretical studies but can be represented if we use a three-dimensional (3D) model. The use of a 3D model enables us to explore the limiting similarity without using the controversial assumption connecting niche overlap with the competitive exclusion in previous theoretical studies. Furthermore, while constant or no dispersion is given in theoretical studies, it is explicitly represented in a 3D model. The coexistence of similar species in 3D environments was explored by dividing a target persistent species in a quasi-equilibrium community into 80 subspecies, which were slightly different from one another at the optimum temperature for population growth. In the experiments, we found cases in which several dozens of species having nearly-overlapping niches coexist stably at a point for over 80 years. The comparison of experiments with and without dispersion by oceanic currents revealed that dispersion negates the progress of competitive exclusion or significantly delays the exclusion. The result that species having nearly-overlapping niches are able to coexist also highlights the crucial role of the specific rate in determining the number of coexisting species. If the number of coexisting species is not determined by the limiting similarity, it will be determined by the frequency of speciation events, as in the neutral theory.