Photosynthetic parameters in the northern<scp>S</scp>outh<scp>C</scp>hina<scp>S</scp>ea in relation to phytoplankton community structure

Many recent models for retrieval of primary production in the sea from ocean-color data are temperature based. But previous studies in low latitudes have shown that models that include phytoplankton community structure can have improved predictive capability. In this study, we measured photosynthetic parameters from photosynthesis-irradiance (P-E) experiments, phytoplankton absorption coefficients, and phytoplankton community structure derived from algal pigments during four cruises in the northern South China Sea (NSCS). The maximum quantum yield of CO2 ( ΦmC) and the chlorophyll a-normalized P-E curve light-limited slope (αB) varied significantly with the blue-to-red ratio of phytoplankton absorption peaks (aph(435)/aph(676)) (p