Seasonal changes in lotic phytoplankton and their successional responses to experimental temperatures
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Channa Reddi Narala (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Paul Lutz
Abstract: An investigation was made of algae collected on glass slides from polluted waters of an urban creek in Greensboro, North Carolina. Observations were made on the successional properties of these planktonic algal communities in relation to changes in temperature under in vitro conditions. Experimental thermal conditions at 15, 20, 25, and 30 C were used. Constant photoperiods of 11 hours duration were maintained for the cultures at the temperature conditions. Highest colonization of algae took place in May and the least in January. Nitzschia, Navicula, and Stigeoclonium were the algae most frequently found. Diatoms colonized the slides in all the collections with a statistically significant increase in numbers in May. Green and bluegreen algae were predominant in the summer with the former showing a statistically significant increase in numbers in August. In the laboratory cultures, green algae successfully competed with blue-green algae at 15° and 20°C, but lost this competitive advantage to blue-green algae at 25° and 30°C. When green and red algae appeared in the microcosm at 20°C, the responses of the two were similar in that both of them co-existed within a heterogeneous community. Diatoms showed fluctuating trends at all four thermal conditions. Successional changes were very rapid in laboratory cultures, and climax communities were established in 3 to 4 weeks time. The responses of phytoplankton at different thermal conditions indicated the crucial role of temperature in determining the fate of organisms involved in the process of succession.
Seasonal changes in lotic phytoplankton and their successional responses to experimental temperatures
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Created on 1/1/1973
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 1973
- Subjects
- Phytoplankton $x Seasonal distribution
- Phytoplankton $x Effect of water temperature on
- Algae $x Seasonal distribution
- Algae $x Effect of water temperature on