Measuring Photophysiology of Attached Stage of Colacium sp. by a Cuvette-Type Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometer

Fast repetition rate fluorometer (FRRf) is a beneficial method for measuring photosystem II (PSII) photophysiology and primary productivity. Although FRRf can measure PSII absorption cross-section (σPSII), maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), effective photochemical efficiency (Fq'/Fm'), and non-photochemical quenching (NPQNSV) for various eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria, almost all FRRf studies to date have focused on phytoplankton. Here, the protocol describes how to measure PSII photophysiology of an epizoic alga Colacium sp. Ehrenberg 1834 (Euglenophyta), in its attached stage (attached to zooplankton), using cuvette-type FRRf. First, we estimated the effects of substrate zooplankton (Scapholeberis mucronata O.F. Müller 1776, Cladocera, Daphniidae) on baseline fluorescence and σPSII, Fv/Fm, Fq'/Fm', and NPQNSV of planktonic Colacium sp. To validate this methodology, we recorded photophysiology measurements of attached Colacium sp. on S. mucronata and compared these results with its planktonic stage. Representative results showed how the protocol could determine the effects of calcium (Ca) and manganese (Mn) on Colacium sp. photophysiology and identify the various effects of Mn enrichment between attached and planktonic stages. Finally, we discuss the adaptability of this protocol to other periphytic algae.