Picocystis salinarum is a globally widespread picoplanktonic green alga of saline lakes. This tiny alga has been recorded in four continents, and in some cases, it has become the dominant phytoplankton species. We examined the ecophysiology of a Kenyan strain of P. salinarum, collected from Lake Nakuru. The photosynthetic activity of the species was measured in seventy-two combinations of light intensity and temperature. The photosynthetic activity was low along the temperature gradient with an optimum at 31.9 °C; it varied between 0.097 and 1.233 μg C μg⁻¹ Chl a h⁻¹. The ability of P. salinarum to utilize low light intensity (α varied between 0.0061 and 0.1 (μg C μg⁻¹ Chl a h⁻¹) (μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹)⁻¹) and its susceptibility to photoinhibition at different temperatures confirm the species’ preference for low light intensity, which is already shown by its I_k values (1.0–89.3 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹). The salinity tolerance of P. salinarum, more specifically the effect of changes in the concentration of chloride (NaCl) and carbonate forms (Na₂CO₃ and NaHCO₃), was investigated in continuous cultures. The dominant ion of the medium greatly affected the growth of P. salinarum: significantly higher growth rates were recorded in carbonate form-dominated media as compared to chloride-dominated ones; the highest growth rate was observed at the highest concentration. The observed physiological properties (slow growth, low photosynthetic activity) are not typical of a dominant species; however, the high conductivity tolerance could be a key factor explaining the success of P. salinarum.

盐藻微囊藻是盐湖的一种遍布全球的皮浮游绿藻。这种微小的藻类在四大洲都有记录，在某些情况下，它已成为浮游植物的主要物种。我们检查了从纳库鲁湖（Lake Nakuru）收集的肯尼亚毕氏疟原虫菌株的生理生态。在光强和温度的72种组合中测量了该物种的光合作用活性。沿温度梯度的光合作用活性较低，最适温度为31.9°C。它在0.097和1.233μgCμg ^-1 Chl a  h ^{-1之间变化}。的能力P. salinarum利用低光强度（α在0.0061和0.1（μgCμg- ¹ Chl a h ^-1）（μmol光子m ^-2  s ^{-1 -1}）^{-1之间变化，}并且其在不同温度下对光抑制的敏感性证实了该物种偏爱低光强度，即它的I _k值（1.0–89.3μmol光子m ^-2  s ^-1）已经显示出。盐假单胞菌的耐盐性，更具体地说是改变氯化物（NaCl）和碳酸盐形式（Na ₂ CO ₃和NaHCO ₃），在连续培养中进行了研究。培养基中的优势离子极大地影响了盐沼假单胞菌的生长：与氯离子占主导的培养基相比，碳酸盐形式占主导的培养基的生长速率明显更高。在最高浓度下观察到最高的生长速率。观察到的生理特性（生长缓慢，光合活性低）不是优势种的典型特征。然而，高电导率耐受性可能是解释盐沼假单胞菌成功的关键因素。