The Role of Diatom Nanostructures in Biasing Diffusion to Improve Uptake in a Patchy Nutrient Environment
Figure 5
Nutrient fluxes across the aerola and membrane.
In (a), the sieve plate is at the top of the aerolar opening as is seen in Coscindiscus sp. The different points show equivalent diameters for the open area of the sieve plate. The drop in flux indicates diffusion limitation. In (b), the fluxes are at the membrane surface of Coscinodiscus sp. Again, the steep drop approaching 1 s indicates diffusion limitation. In (c) the fluxes are for the open aerola of T. eccentrica at the areola and at the membrane. The absence of a drop approaching 1 s in (c) indicates no diffusion limitation. (d) is an expansion of the upper concentrations in (a). The diffusion limitation in (d) and (e) is evident with the drop in fluxes. However, comparison with (f) shows that temporarily the fluxes into the aerolar chamber are higher for the Coscindiscus sp. geometry than for the T. eccentrica geometry.