Chrysophyte cysts in 36 Canadian high arctic ponds

• Published in: Nordic Journal of Botany
• Main Authors: Duff, Katharine E., Douglas, Marianne S. V., Smol, John P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1992
• Subjects: Arctic; Cape Herschel; Ellesmere Island; Two Ponds
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.1992.tb01331.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1756-1051.1992.tb01331.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1756-1051.1992.tb01331.x

Chrysophyte stomatocysts were described from the surface sediments and other habitats (moss, rocks, and open water) of 36 ponds located on Cape Herschel, Ellesmere Island in the Canadian high Arctic (78°37'N). Thirty‐five distinct stomatocyst types were described using scanning electron microscopy (SEM); 1 other cyst was common, but was not observed with SEM. Our study ponds were diverse limnologically and contained distinct cyst floras, but the cause(s) of the floristic differences are as yet unclear. Two ponds with extreme values of water chemistry (i.e. high salinity and low pH) supported unique cyst floras. Distinctive cyst floras were also observed in ponds with high nutrient input from nesting birds and/or with diverse microhabitats (e.g. moss banks), which may provide substrate for periphytic chrysophytes. Arctic pond cyst floras are typically less diverse than those from temperate regions. Highly ornamented cysts are also less common in arctic waters, but the reason for this is unknown. Stomatocysts could be used to augment paleolimnological research in arctic ponds, if the environmental factors controlling cyst distributions and possibly degree of ornamentation can be elucidated.