ALGAE

The Korean Society of Phycology (한국조류학회(藻類))
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Ecology of Algal Mats from Hypersaline Ponds in the British Virgin Islands

  • Jarecki, Lianna (H. Lavity Stoutt Community College) ;
  • Sarah M. , Burton-MacLeod (Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University) ;
  • Garbary, David J. (Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University)
  • Published : 2006.06.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Benthic sediment samples ranging from poorly aggregated sand to complex, stratified mats were collected from six hypersaline ponds from March and July 1995 in the British Virgin Islands. Assemblages were analyzed with respect to species composition and abundance within visibly distinct layers in each mat sample. In individual ponds there was no apparent association between changing depth and the development of the benthic mats. Some species were present in all samples (e.g. Oscillatoria sp.) while others were restricted to single sites (e.g. Johannesbaptistia pellucida). Primary species included Microcoleus chthonoplastes, Phormidium spp., Coccochloris stagnina, and purple sulfur bacteria. Quantitative analysis of community structure included cluster and principal component analysis. Samples from individual ponds were often clustered; however, this was subject to seasonal variation. Mats collected in March were generally thicker and contained more layers than those in July. Variation among sites was not explained by the measured variation in environmental factors such as average pond salinity, depth, and oxygen concentration (mg/L). This study provides a detailed analysis of mat communities in hypersaline ponds and compares them with similar mat communities from other areas.

Keywords

References

  1. Bauld J. 1984. Microbial mats in marginal marine environments: Shark Bay, Western Australia, and Spencer Gulf, South Australia. In: Castenholz, R.H. and Halvorson H.O. (eds), Microbial Mats: Stromatolites. Alan Liss, New York. pp. 39-58
  2. Bauld J., D'Amelio E. and Farmer J.D. 1992. Modern microbial mats. In: The Proterozoic Biosphere, A Multidisciplinary Study.Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. pp. 261-269
  3. Belkin S. and Jannasch H.W. 1987. Microbial mats at deep-sea hydrothermal vents: new observations. In: Cohen Y. and Rosenberg E. (eds), Microbial Mats: Physiological Ecology of Benthic Microbial Communities. American Society for Microbiology, Washington. pp. 16-21
  4. Bird C. and McLachlan J. 1977. Investigations of the marine algae of Nova Scotia: XIII. Cyanophyceae. Proc. Nova Scotian Inst. Sci. 28: 65-86
  5. Caumette P. 1987. Ecology and general physiology of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in benthic environments. In: Cohen Y. and Rosenberg E. (eds), Microbial Mats: Physiological Ecology of Benthic Microbial Communities. American Society for Microbiology, Washington. pp. 97-103
  6. Cohen Y. and Rosenberg E. (eds). 1989. Microbial Mats: Physiological Ecology of Benthic Microbial Communities. American Society for Microbiology, Washington
  7. D'Amelio E.D., Cohen Y. and Des Marais D.J. 1989. Comparative functional ultrastructure of two hypersaline submerged cyanobacterial mats: Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico, and Solar Lake, Sinai, Egypt. In: Cohen Y. and Rosenberg E. (eds), Microbial Mats: Physiological Ecology of Benthic Microbial Communities. American Society for Microbiology, Washington. pp. 97-103
  8. Davis J.S. 1978. Biological communities of a nutrient enriched salina. Aquat. Bot. 4: 23-42 https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3770(78)90004-9
  9. Des Marais D.J., D'Amilio E., Farmer J.D., Jorgensen B.B., Palmisano A.C., and Pierson B.K. 1992. Case study of a modern microbial mat-building community: the submerged cyanobacterial mats of Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico. In: The Proterozoic Biosphere, a Multidisciplinary Study. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. pp. 325-333
  10. Desikachary T.V. 1959. Cyanophyta. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. 686 pp
  11. Hammer U.T. 1986. Saline Lake Ecosystems of the World. Dr W. Junk, Dordrecht. 603 pp
  12. Humm H.J. and Wicks S.R. 1980. Introduction and Guide to the Marine Bluegreen Algae. John Wiley and Sons, New York.194 pp
  13. Jarecki L. 2004. Salt Ponds of the British Virgin Islands: Investigations in an Unexplored Ecosystem. PhD thesis. University of Kent at Canterbury, Durrell Institute ofConservation and Ecology. 183 pp
  14. Jarecki L. and Walkey, M. 2006. Variable hydrology and salinity of salt ponds in the British Virgin Islands. Saline Systems 2:2
  15. Oren A. 1989. Photosynthetic and heterotrophic benthic bacterial communities of a hypersaline sulfur spring on the shore of the Dead Sea. In: Cohen Y. and Rosenberg E. (eds),Microbial Mats: Physiological Ecology of Benthic Microbial Communities. American Society for Microbiology, Washington. pp. 64-75
  16. Paerl H.W., Joye S.B. and Fitzpatrick M. 1993. Evaluation of nutrient limitation of $CO_2$ and $N_2$ fixation in marine microbial mats. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 101: 297-306 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps101297
  17. Paerl H.H., Pickney J.L. and Steepe T.F. 2000. Cyanobacterialbacterial mat consortia: examining the functional unit of microbial survival and growth in extreme environments.Environ. Microb. 2: 11-26 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1462-2920.2000.00071.x
  18. Pickney J.L. and Paerl H.W. 1997. Anoxygenic photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation by a microbial mat community on a Bahamian hypersaline lagoon. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:420-426
  19. Potts M. and Whitton B.A. 1980. Vegetation of the intertidal zone of the lagoon of Aldabra, with particular reference to the photosynthetic prokaryotic communities. Proc. R. Soc.Lond. B 208: 13-55
  20. Richert L., Golubic S., Le Guédès R., Ratiskol J., Payri C. and Guezennec J. 2005. Characterization of exopolysaccharides produced by Cyanobacteria isolated from Polynesianmicrobial mats. Cur. Microbiol. 51: 379-384 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-0069-z
  21. Sage W.W. and Sullivan M.J. 1978. Distribution of bluegreen algae in a Mississippi Gulf Coast salt marsh. J. Phycol. 14:333-337 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.1978.tb00308.x
  22. Sheridan R.P. 2001. Role of ultraviolet radiation in maintaining the three-dimensional structure of a cyanobacterial mat community and facilitating nitrogen fixation. J. Phycol. 37:731-737 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1529-8817.2001.99151.x
  23. Shilo M. 1989. The unique characteristics of benthic cyanobacteria. In: Cohen Y. and Rosenberg E. (eds),Microbial Mats: Physiological Ecology of Benthic Microbial Communities. American Society for Microbiology, Washington. pp. 207-213
  24. Stal L.J. 1994. Microbial mats in coastal environments. In: Stal L.J. and Caumette P. (eds), Structure, Development and Environmental Significance of Microbial Mats. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. pp. 21-32
  25. Stal L.J. and Krumbein W.E. 1985. Isolation and characterization of Cyanobacteria from a marine microbial mat. Bot. Mar.28: 351-365 https://doi.org/10.1515/botm.1985.28.8.351
  26. Stal L.J., Van Gemerden H. and Krumbein W.E. 1985. Structure and development of a benthic marine microbial mat. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 31: 111-125 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.1985.tb01138.x
  27. SYSTAT. 1992. Statistics, Version 5.2 Ed. Evanston, IL, SYSTAT Inc
  28. Ward D.M., Weller R., Shiea J., Castenholz R.W. and Cohen Y. 1989. Hot spring microbial mats: anoxygenic and oxygenic mats of possible evolutionary significance. In: Cohen Y. and Rosenberg E. (eds), Microbial Mats: Physiological Ecology of Benthic Microbial Communities. American Society for Microbiology, Washington. pp. 3-15
  29. Wharton R.A., Parker B.C. and Simmons G.M. 1993. Distribution, species composition, and morphology of algal mats in Antarctic dry valley lakes. Phycologia 22: 355-365

Cited by

  1. Geomorphic and stratigraphic evidence for an unusual tsunami or storm a few centuries ago at Anegada, British Virgin Islands vol.63, pp.1, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-010-9622-6
  2. First record of Kryptoperidinium foliaceum (Dinophyceae: Peridiniales) from a hypersaline environment in Kuwait, north-western Arabian Gulf vol.5, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755267212000838