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A comparison of algal periphyton composition on eleven species of submerged macrophytes

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Summary

The composition of algal periphyton was examined on eleven species of submerged macrophytes collected at a depth of 0.25 m in Sewell Lake, southwestern Manitoba, a shallow nitrogen and phosphorus rich lake. There were substantial differences in the periphyton on all macrophyte species. Diatom subcommunities were the most similar, while the green algal subcommunities were the most dissimilar on different plant hosts.Potamogeton zosteriformis differed the most from all other macrophytes with respect to the composition of its periphyton. These results and a comparison of the literature suggest that the composition and structure of periphyton communities on living substrates is a product of the interaction of many variables, determined by the characteristics of the host plant, the external environment and the algae themselves. Studies of periphyton at a given site must take into account the various substrates available.

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Author notes

  1. Eva Pip

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Winnipeg, R3B 2E9, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

  2. G. G. C. Robinson

    Present address: Department of Botany, University of Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

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    1. Eva Pip
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    2. G. G. C. Robinson
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    Pip, E., Robinson, G.G.C. A comparison of algal periphyton composition on eleven species of submerged macrophytes. Hydrobiological Bulletin 18, 109–118 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02257050

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