Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia

The autecology of the estuarine alga, Blidingia minima var. subsalsa (Kjellman) Scagel (Chlorophyceae) was considered with regard to its growth, reproduction and distribution. Studies were conducted on the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia, from May 1974 to July 1975 and in the laboratory fro...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Prange, Robert K.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The University of British Columbia 1976
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0093691
https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0093691
id ftdatacite:10.14288/1.0093691
record_format openpolar
spelling ftdatacite:10.14288/1.0093691 2023-05-15T13:43:55+02:00 Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia Prange, Robert K. 1976 https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0093691 https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0093691 en eng The University of British Columbia PhysicalObject CreativeWork ArchivalObject article 1976 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0093691 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z The autecology of the estuarine alga, Blidingia minima var. subsalsa (Kjellman) Scagel (Chlorophyceae) was considered with regard to its growth, reproduction and distribution. Studies were conducted on the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia, from May 1974 to July 1975 and in the laboratory from January to August 1975. The major environmental factors considered were light, temperature, salinity, nutrients and desiccation. The alga occurred on the Squamish River delta in the upper intertidal zone. Biomass, as estimated by percent cover, increased in the period March to early May, then remained stable or decreased during spring runoff in May and June, finally increasing to a maximum in August. Increases in percent cover were associated with brackish salinity, high light intensity, high air temperature, considerable desiccation, an absence of algal competitors and possibly favourable ion ratios. The three factors investigated in the laboratory (temperature, salinity and nutrients) interacted in their effect on net photosynthesis. Reproduction in the laboratory occurred by release of quadri-flagellate and isomorphic biflagellate swarmers. Some biflagellate swarmers fused and germinated, producing isomorphic plants. The period of swarmer release was from January to early May. The alga was perennial but during the winter only its prostrate basal disc was present. Maximum vertical distribution was from 1.5 to 4.0 m above chart datum (lowest low water). Maximum percent cover occurred at ca. 3.25 m. The upper limit appeared to be associated with unfavourable osmotic conditions, e.g. rain or desiccation, and the lower limit with low light intensities. Horizontal distribution was limited by absence of salt water on the freshwater side and competition from Fucus distichus subsp. edentatus (De la Pylaie) Powell on the marine side of the estuary. Blidingia minima var. subsalsa1s geographical and habitat distribution was also examined by reference to literature reports and herbarium collections. The species is cosmopolitan, occurring in every ocean except the Indian and Antarctic with most reports from polar and temperate regions. The variety occurs in brackish, marine and freshwater habitats. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Antarctic Indian Kjellman ENVELOPE(-59.415,-59.415,-63.725,-63.725)
institution Open Polar
collection DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology)
op_collection_id ftdatacite
language English
description The autecology of the estuarine alga, Blidingia minima var. subsalsa (Kjellman) Scagel (Chlorophyceae) was considered with regard to its growth, reproduction and distribution. Studies were conducted on the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia, from May 1974 to July 1975 and in the laboratory from January to August 1975. The major environmental factors considered were light, temperature, salinity, nutrients and desiccation. The alga occurred on the Squamish River delta in the upper intertidal zone. Biomass, as estimated by percent cover, increased in the period March to early May, then remained stable or decreased during spring runoff in May and June, finally increasing to a maximum in August. Increases in percent cover were associated with brackish salinity, high light intensity, high air temperature, considerable desiccation, an absence of algal competitors and possibly favourable ion ratios. The three factors investigated in the laboratory (temperature, salinity and nutrients) interacted in their effect on net photosynthesis. Reproduction in the laboratory occurred by release of quadri-flagellate and isomorphic biflagellate swarmers. Some biflagellate swarmers fused and germinated, producing isomorphic plants. The period of swarmer release was from January to early May. The alga was perennial but during the winter only its prostrate basal disc was present. Maximum vertical distribution was from 1.5 to 4.0 m above chart datum (lowest low water). Maximum percent cover occurred at ca. 3.25 m. The upper limit appeared to be associated with unfavourable osmotic conditions, e.g. rain or desiccation, and the lower limit with low light intensities. Horizontal distribution was limited by absence of salt water on the freshwater side and competition from Fucus distichus subsp. edentatus (De la Pylaie) Powell on the marine side of the estuary. Blidingia minima var. subsalsa1s geographical and habitat distribution was also examined by reference to literature reports and herbarium collections. The species is cosmopolitan, occurring in every ocean except the Indian and Antarctic with most reports from polar and temperate regions. The variety occurs in brackish, marine and freshwater habitats.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Prange, Robert K.
spellingShingle Prange, Robert K.
Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia
author_facet Prange, Robert K.
author_sort Prange, Robert K.
title Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia
title_short Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia
title_full Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia
title_fullStr Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia
title_full_unstemmed Autecology of Blidingia minima var. Subsalsa (Chlorophyceae) in the Squamish River estuary, British Columbia
title_sort autecology of blidingia minima var. subsalsa (chlorophyceae) in the squamish river estuary, british columbia
publisher The University of British Columbia
publishDate 1976
url https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0093691
https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0093691
long_lat ENVELOPE(-59.415,-59.415,-63.725,-63.725)
geographic Antarctic
Indian
Kjellman
geographic_facet Antarctic
Indian
Kjellman
genre Antarc*
Antarctic
genre_facet Antarc*
Antarctic
op_doi https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0093691
_version_ 1766195038022270976