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Title: Composition of phytoplankton communities and their contribution to secondary productivity in Carolina Bays on the Savannah River Plant

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5039033· OSTI ID:5039033

The overall goal of the this three year project is to determine the importance of phytoplankton (microscopic algae) as a component of the food chain base in SRS cardine bays. To summarize specific year three results: Total phytoplankton abundance in Flamingo bay was greatest during early spring 1989, declined during spring and summer, but increased again during early fall. Most of this phytoplankton density was composed of genus Chlamydomonas sp. Ellenton bay demonstrated a similar decline in phytoplankton numbers during midspring 1989, but increased in density during midsummer. As observed in Flamingo bay, much of this variation was due to changes in Chlamydomonas sp. numbers. In Flamingo bay the blue-green alga Anabaena sp. was low in concentration throughout the 1989 flooded season until August, however the diatom Pinnularia sp. displayed a pattern of abundance similar to Chlamydomonas sp. In Ellenton bay Pinnularia sp. peaked during early summer and Anabaena sp. reached highest densities in late spring. For zooplankton in Flamingo bay, the calanoid copepods were higher in early and late spring, similar to the cyclopoid copepods. Cladocera in Ellenton bay were highest in numbers during May 1989, while cladocera in Flamingo bay displayed patterns similar to Flamingo bay cyclopoid copepods. Laboratory experiments exposing Chlamydomonas sp. cultures to known mixtures of {sup 13}C-CO{sub 2} and {sup 12}C-CO{sub 2} seem to indicate that some isotope preference may exist during photosynthesis, however these results have not been analyzed statistically yet. Phytoplankton samples collected for Flamingo bay indicated that a seasonal change in isotope ratios may be occurring in algae tissues, however further analyses are being conducted to determine whether this may also be due to species shifts. 3 refs., 14 figs.

Research Organization:
South Carolina State Coll., Orangeburg, SC (United States). Dept. of Natural Sciences
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
FG09-88SR18049
OSTI ID:
5039033
Report Number(s):
DOE/SR/18049-3; ON: DE92001812
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English