Comparison of algae in the euplankton, tychoplankton, and periphyton of a tundra pond

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Botany
• Main Authors: Sheath, Robert G., Hellebust, Johan A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1978
• Subjects: Plant Science; Tuktoyaktuk; Tundra
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b78-172; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b78-172

The algal flora of a small tundra pond near Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., was examined during the ice-free period in 1974. A total of 166 species were identified from three communities, the euplankton, the tychoplankton, and the periphyton. The taxa containing the highest proportion of species were the Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, and Chrysophyceae, in that order. There were a number of differences in species composition between the algal communities of the pond. There were 36 unique species in the euplankton, 10 in the tychoplankton, and 15 in the periphyton. The species found exclusively in the euplankton were fairly evenly distributed in the various taxa, whereas a large proportion of the unique species in the tychoplankton were desmids. The species found only in the periphyton were largely diatoms. However, 66 species were present in all three communities. Each community exhibited two biomass increases, the timing of which was slightly different for each association. The major contributors to the biomass of the euplankton were nanoplanktonic flagellates of the Chrysophyceae, whereas the periphyton was dominated by large, colonial, filamentous or desmid members of the Chlorophyceae. The tychoplankton dominants were intermediate between the other two communities. The primary productivity of the euplankton was slightly greater than that of the tychoplankton during the July maximum, while the tychoplankton had a five-fold greater productivity in late August.