Morphological descriptions and stratigraphic distributions of the chrysophycean stomatocysts from a recently acidified lake (Adirondack Park, N.Y.)

Abstract

The chrysophycean stomatocyst flora from the sediments of Upper Wallface Pond, a recently acidified Adirondack lake, was described according to the guidelines of the International Statospore Working Group. Sixty-six morphotypes were distinguished, using scanning electron microscopy. Twenty-eight of these cysts were distinguishable using the light microscope (LM), whereas 30 required grouping into 11 collective categories from LM identification, and 7 could not be identified using LM. None of our morphotypes could be linked definitively to the living chrysophyte species that produced them. Stratigraphic analysis showed that a marked change in the cyst assemblage occurred in the 1930's. Previous paleoecological studies inferred a pronouced pH decline at this time. Redundancy analysis of our data showed that diatom-inferred pH explained a significant amount of variation (Monte Carlo permutation test; p=0.01). This suggests that pH influences chrysophyte populations, and that stomatocysts could eventually be used to reconstruct pH and other variables.