SYSTEMATICS AND ECOLOGY OF LYNGBYA SPP. AND ASSOCIATED SPECIES (CYANOPHYTA) IN A NEW ENGLAND SALT MARSH1,2

Abstract

ABSTRACTField populations of the most abundant filamentous blue‐green algae (cyanobacteria) from a northern New England salt marsh were examined for the presence of natural morphological clusters. A continuum in the distribution of average cell sizes and shapes for individual trichomes was evident. However, there was a high frequency of certain cell sizes (six clusters), which were also separated by several qualitative characters (end cell shape, granule location, and cell color). In clonal cultures the trichomes of these clusters maintained the morphology of the original isolated trichome and thus morphology appeared to he stable. The clusters were either named according to Geitler's (1932) terminology or assigned numbers if no adequate descriptions were available: (1) Lyngbya and Phormidium spp., (2) Microcoleus chthonoplastes Thur. (3) Lyngbya sp. 1, (4) Lyngbya sp. 2, (5) Lyngbya aestuarii (Mert.) Liebmann. and, (6) Lyngbya sp. 3. All groups had maximum abundance in late summer. Microcoleus chthonoplastes occurred throughout the year, while Lyngbya aestuarii and Lyngbya sp. 3 occurred throughout the summer and fall. It is concluded that both field and culture information are useful in enhancing our knowledge of blue‐green algal systematics.