The atlantic white cedar swamp: Prime candidate for scientific investigation

Abstract

Chamaecyparis thyoides —Sphagnum bogs in the kettles of the coastal glacial moraine are unique, little-studied ecosystems ripe for diverse investigation. An extreme but relatively stable environment, these freshwater wetlands contrast sharply with immediately adjacent areas in chemistry, sediment substrate and biota. The waters are acid (strongly buffered ca. pH 4.5), low in cations [e. g., [Mg]=0.4 mg.l−1 (ave.)], of low specific conductivity (ca. 50 μmho/cm) and low transparency (Secchi readings <30cm). The high cation exchange capacity ofSphagnum, peats and abundant macromolecular aggregates have exerted strong evolutionary and ecological determining forces. The highly co-evolved system contains many unusual trophic strategies: periodic carotenoid accumulation in protists, heterotrophic nutrition in flowering plants, root nodules (Myrica gale), planktonic symbioses of varying degree (Bosmina longirostris-euglenid;Stentor multiformis-Chlorella;Utricularia with theStentor-Chlorella co-biont affixed like leaves). The biotic assemblage is characterized by both presence and absence of species, genera and even divisions. In the undisturbed bog, microflora diversity is high, e.g., 45 species/site at one time, with strongly skewed taxonomic clustering. Peats retain an excellent record of productivity, meteorology, hydrology, flora and fauna. Many factors combine to recommend intensive study of the swamps, including the promise of real estate “improvement”, dredging and filling that threaten to make the coastal cedar bog an extinct biome.