scholarly journals The Hydrogen Ion Concentration of Sea Water in its Relation to Photosynthetic Changes

Author(s):  
W. R. G. Atkins

The present paper is a continuation of the work already published under the above general title and should be considered in relation to the results previously recorded. The method of performing the measurements remained unchanged; xylenol blue was used to check the determinations made with cresol red in the more alkaline regions—namely, around pH 8.24. The water was tested immediately after being drawn, or within a few hours, unless otherwise stated in the tables.

Nature ◽  
1923 ◽  
Vol 111 (2778) ◽  
pp. 132-133
Author(s):  
J. J.

1922 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin B. Powers

1. The ability of marine fishes to absorb oxygen at low tension from the sea water is more or less dependent upon the hydrogen ion concentration of the water. 2. The ability of fishes to withstand wide variations in the range of hydrogen ion concentration of the sea water can be correlated with their habitats. The fishes that are most resistant to a wide variation in the hydrogen ion concentration are most cosmopolitan in their habitat. Those that are least resistant to a variation in the hydrogen ion concentration are the most restricted in their range of habitat. 3. There is a close correlation between the optimum condition of the sea water for the absorption of oxygen at low tension by the herring (Clupea pallasii), the condition of the sea water to which they react positive and that in which they are found most abundantly. 4. It is suggested that the variation in the ability to absorb oxygen at low tension at a given pH of individuals of a species is dependent upon the alkaline reserve of the blood of the individual fish.


Author(s):  
W. R. G. Atkins

In the first publication under the above general title the seasonal changes in sea water were studied, but as explained previously it was not possible to regard all the data as of an equal degree of accuracy. For this and other reasons the seasonal changes were further traced in the hydrographical cruises up to October, 1922, when the approach of the winter equilibrium made it profitless for some months to continue. Since, however, at times from April to September the changes are relatively rapid it may be advisable to follow up the matter during the period mentioned at shorter intervals.


1934 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 803-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Allison ◽  
William H. Cole

1. Fundulus heteroclitus was found to be a reliable experimental animal for studies on chemical stimulation in either fresh or sea water. 2. The response of Fundulus to hydrochloric, acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, and caproic acids was determined in fresh water, while the same acids plus sulfuric and nitric, as well as the sodium salts of the mineral acids, were tested in sea water. 3. Stimulation of Fundulus by hydrochloric acid in fresh water is correlated with the effective hydrogen ion concentration. Stimulation by the n-aliphatic acids in the same environment is correlated with two factors, the effective hydrogen ion concentration and the potential of the non-polar group in the molecule. However, as the number of CH2 groups increases the stimulating effect increases by smaller and smaller amounts, approaching a maximum value. 4. Stimulation of Fundulus by hydrochloric, sulfuric, and nitric acids in sea water is correlated with the forces of primary valence which in turn are correlated with the change in hydrogen ion concentration of the sea water. The n-aliphatic acids increase in stimulating efficiency in sea water as the length of the carbon chain increases, but a limiting value is not reached as soon as in fresh water. 5. Only a slight difference in stimulation by hydrochloric acid is found in sea water and in fresh water. However, there is a significant difference in stimulation by the fatty acids in fresh and in sea water, which is partly explained by the different buffering capacities of the two media. It is to be noted that in the same environment two different fish, Fundulus and Eupomotis, give different results, while the same fish (Fundulus) in two different environments responds similarly to mineral acids but differently to fatty acids. These results illustrate that stimulation is a function of the interaction between environment and receptors, and that each is important in determining the response. 6. Stimulation by sodium chloride, nitrate, and sulfate is correlated with equivalent concentrations of the salts added to sea water, or with the forces of primary valence. Although the threshold for stimulation by the salts is considerably higher than for the acids, the efficiency of stimulation by the salts is greater.


Author(s):  
W. R. G. Atkins

1. Measurements of hydrogen ion concentration, of phosphate concentration, and of temperature all show at certain seasons a well-marked gradient from surface to bottom. The upper 10–20 metres is more alkaline, notably depleted of phosphates and warmer.2. Settled summer weather and deep water, free from irregularities of the bottom, favour the formation of such a gradient. Its breaking up is occasioned by wave action and the cooling of the surface water in autumn.3. Thermal stratification in the English Channel arises at each station, and is not due to the inflow of warm over colder water.


1937 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Whitaker

1. The eggs of Fucus furcatus develop perfectly in sea water acidified to pH 6.0. They are retarded at pH 5.5. At pH 5.0 they do not develop, nor do they cytolize. 2. In normal sea water in the dark at 15°C., eggs develop rhizoids on the sides in the resultant direction of a mass of neighboring eggs. The polarity and the whole developmental pattern of the embryo is thereby induced. This inductive effect does not operate, however, unless the directing mass is an appreciable aggregation of cells (10 or more), or unless there are numerous other eggs in the dish. A group of five eggs alone in a dish do not carry out mutual inductions. Two eggs alone in a dish do not develop rhizoids toward each other. 3. When the sea water is acidified to pH 6.0 all sizes of aggregations carry out mutual inductions. Two eggs alone in a dish now develop rhizoids on the sides toward each other, provided they are not more than about 4 egg diameters apart. 4. Increased hydrogen ion concentration thus augments or intensifies the mutual inductive effect. 5. This may explain why only larger masses of eggs show inductions in normal sea water, since presumably the larger masses considerably increase the hydrogen ion concentration locally. 6. The nature of the inductive action is discussed. 7. In acidified sea water at pH 6.0, compared with normal sea water at pH 7.8–8.0, the rhizoids originate and extend with a strongly increased downward component. The substrate then forces further extension or growth of the rhizoid to be in the plane of the substrate.


1926 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Irving

The normal reaction of the cœlomic fluid in Patiria miniata and Asterias ochraceus is pH 7.6, and of the cæca, 6.7, compared with sea water at 8.3, all without salt error correction. A medium at pH 6.7–7.0 is optimum for the cæca for ciliary survival and digestion of protein, and is maintained by carbon dioxide production. The optimum pH found for carbon dioxide production is a true one for the effect of hydrogen ion concentration on the tissue. It does not represent an elimination gradient for carbon dioxide. Because the normal excised cæca maintain a definite hydrogen ion concentration and change their internal environment toward that as an optimum during life, there exists a regulatory process which is an important vital function.


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