In culture, Gambierdiscus spp. have been shown to prefer irradiances that are relatively low (≤250 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹) versus those to which they are frequently exposed to in their natural environment (>500 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹). Although several behavioral strategies for coping with such irradiances have been suggested, it is unclear as to how these dinoflagellates do so on a physiological level. More specifically, how do long term exposures (30 days) affect cell size and cellular chlorophyll content, and what is the photosynthetic response to short term, high irradiance exposures (up to 1464 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹)? The results of this study reveal that cell size and chlorophyll content exhibited by G. carolinianus increased with acclimation to increasing photon flux density. Additionally, both G. carolinianus and G. silvae exhibited reduced photosynthetic efficiency when acclimated to increased photon flux density. Photosynthetic yield exhibited by G. silvae was greater than that for G. carolinianus across all acclimation irradiances. Although such differences were evident, both G. carolinianus and G. silvae appear to have adequate biochemical mechanisms to withstand exposure to irradiances exceeding 250 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹ for at least short periods of time following acclimation to irradiances of up to 150 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹.

在文化上，Gambierdiscus spp。已经显示出相对于在自然环境中经常暴露于其下的辐照度（> 500μmol光子m ^-2  s ^-1）而言，辐照度相对较低（≤250μmol光子m ^-2  s ^-1）。尽管已经提出了应对这种辐照的几种行为策略，但是在生理水平上这些鞭毛鞭毛虫是如何做到的尚不清楚。更具体地说，长期暴露（30天）如何影响细胞大小和细胞叶绿素含量，以及对短期，高辐照暴露（高达1464μmol光子m ^-2  s ^-1）的光合作用有何反应？）？这项研究的结果表明，随着光子通量密度的增加，G。carolinianus表现出的细胞大小和叶绿素含量也随之增加。另外，当适应增加的光子通量密度时，卡罗莱纳氏菌和银杏叶片均表现出降低的光合作用效率。在所有适应辐照下，G。silvae表现出的光合作用产量高于G. carolinianus。尽管这种差异是明显的，这两种G. carolinianus和G.林业似乎具有足够的生化机制，以承受暴露于辐照度超过250微摩尔光子米^-2 小号^-1在适应高达150μmol光子m ^-2  s ^-1的辐照之后至少持续短时间。