The in vivo fluorescence yield of chlorophyll a in Chlorella pyrenoidosa is shown to vary with the availability of nitrate, trace elements, and with the presence of mercury. The fluorescence yield of Phaeodactylum tricornutum also varies with culture conditions and comparisons of Cyclotella nana and Chaetoceros galvestonensis show a species‐dependent variation. Both types of yield fluctuations are eliminated when photosynthetic electron transport is blocked by adding 3‐(3,4dichlorophenyl)‐1,1‐dimethylurea (DCMU) to phytoplankton: the in vivo fluorescence yield becomes maximal and a constant function of cellular chlorophyll a , regardless of growth conditions or of the species examined. Preliminary observations of samples from the Caribbean Sea also indicate a constant in vivo fluorescence yield in the presence of DCMU.
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Slovacek et al. (1977) studied this question.