Modeling size-dependent photosynthesis: light absorption and the allometric rule

Microalgal photosynthesis can be predicted using empirical allometric or mechanistic bio-optic models. These two descriptions are usually considered independently. We compare the size scaling of photosynthesis predicted by these two models. Size scaling exponents for phytoplankton often deviate from the allometric 3/4 rule. This may be because the allometric model does not account for the size dependence of light absorption and its effect on the size scaling of photosynthesis. In contrast to the allometric model and experimental data, the bio-optic model predicts photosynthesis should be independent of cell size when intracellular pigment concentrations are low or inversely related to cell diameter. A composite of the allometric and bio-optic models is described and compared to laboratory data of light-limited nutrient-saturated diatom photosynthesis. The allo-bio-optic model provides a mechanistic explanation for the anomalous size scaling found in laboratory and field studies of microalgal photosynthesis and growth.