Premium
NOSTOC (CYANOPHYTA) PRODUCTIVITY IN OREGON STREAM ECOSYSTEMS: INVERTEBRATE INFLUENCES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MORPHOLOGICAL TYPES 1
Author(s) -
Ward Amelia K.,
Dahm Clifford N.,
Cummins Kenneth W.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.1985.00223.x
Subject(s) - biology , nostoc , photosynthesis , botany , ecosystem , nitrogen fixation , larva , invertebrate , nutrient , productivity , ecology , cyanobacteria , bacteria , genetics , macroeconomics , economics
Nostoc parmelioides colonies housing dipteran larvae (Cricotopus) had higher rates of weight specific photosynthesis than colonies without the larvae. A change in colony shape, which allowed the alga to be exposed to higher light intensities, occurred, in the presence of the larvae. This change in morphology together with potential nutrient additions by the larvae and other effects may have caused the increase in photosynthetic rates. Nostoc colonies were typically found in open areas of small streams in western Oregon mountains where the ability to respond to high light would be advantageous in supporting the metabolically expensive process of nitrogen fixation.