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Diversity of Spirogyra (Chlorophyta) filament types on an altitudinal gradient
Journal article   Open access

Diversity of Spirogyra (Chlorophyta) filament types on an altitudinal gradient

Jen-Chyong Wang, Robert W. Hoshaw and Richard M. McCourt
British phycological journal, v 24(4), pp 367-373
01 Jan 1989
url
https://doi.org/10.1080/00071618900650381View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze) Open

Abstract

A seasonal survey of Spirogyra strains in an intermittent stream in southern Arizona, USA, was conducted from spring 1981 to winter 1982. The diversity and distribution of six morphologically distinct filament types were documented at 47 sites on an altitudinal gradient (915-1463 m) in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Spirogyra filament types were differentiated on the basis of filament width, number of chloroplasts per cell and type of end wall (plane or replicate). Spirogyra filaments of all six types were most abundant in early summer and fall, when temperatures were warm (c. 36°C) and water sufficiently abundant to form temporary pools. Filaments were rare during the month (July) when most pools dried up and during the coldest month (4°C, January). A filament type of intermediate width (∼ 50 μm) and variable chloroplast number was the most abundant and broadly distributed. The two widest filament types were virtually absent from the higher altitudes (1340-1463 m), whereas the narrower filament types were distributed uniformly along the altitudinal gradient. Thus, filament-type diversity at sites was greatest at lower altitudes. This difference in distribution of wide and narrow filament types may reflect a difference in optimal growth temperature for wide and narrow filaments, or it may imply that the wider Spirogyra filaments have a limited ability to disperse upstream.

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Web of Science research areas
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Plant Sciences
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