How algae regulate gravitational sinking is poorly understood. In a collaboration with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Polz group at DOME shows in a paper in Science Advances that sinking depends on cell size, light and nutrient concentration. Some algal species sink faster when starved for nutrients due to accumulation of cellular carbohydrates and loss of water, both of which increase their density. This is ecologically significant since deeper water into which they sink contains more nutrients, potentially leading to a recharge in nutrients and resumed growth.
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