Biomass density of an algae pond is a factor easily regulated by controlling
the dilution rate of the pond with fresh or recycled medium.
Growth phase (estimated by average light intensity) prior to dark
incubation was a key driving factor in the rate and extent of biomass
loss in the dark. Cells exposed to high average light intensities (late exponential
phase) exhibited the highest rates of biomass loss in the dark
(Fig. 4, Table S1), which is in agreement with previous studies on postillumination
respiration [35]. Both growth rates and dark loss rates increase
in magnitude with more dilute, exponentially growing cultures
(Fig. 5). This “light history effect” was also observed by Torzillo et al.
[24], where Spirulina platensis cells exposed to higher light intensiti