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Microalgal assemblages in a poikilohaline pond
Author(s) -
Wang Shuyi,
Lambert William,
Giang Sophia,
Goericke Ralf,
Palenik Brian
Publication year - 2014
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/jpy.12158
Subject(s) - salinity , biology , algae , estuary , diatom , chlorophyll a , biofuel , botany , biomass (ecology) , ecology
Microalgal strains for algal biofuels production in outdoor ponds will need to have high net growth rates under diverse environmental conditions. A small, variable salinity pond in the S an E lijo L agoon estuary in southern C alifornia was chosen to serve as a model pond due to its routinely high chlorophyll content. Profiles of microalgal assemblages from water samples collected from A pril 2011 to J anuary 2012 were obtained by constructing 18S r DNA environmental clone libraries. Pond assemblages were found to be dominated by green algae P icochlorum sp. and P icocystis sp. throughout the year. Pigment analysis suggested that the two species contributed most of the chlorophyll a of the pond, which ranged from 21.9 to 664.3 μg · L −1 with the P icocystis contribution increasing at higher salinities. However, changes of temperature, salinity or irradiance may have enabled a bloom of the diatom C haetoceros sp. in J une 2011. Isolates of these microalgae were obtained and their growth rates characterized as a function of temperature and salinity. C haetoceros sp. had the highest growth rate over the temperature test range while it showed the most sensitivity to high salinity. All three strains showed the presence of lipid bodies during nitrogen starvation, suggesting they have potential as future biofuels strains.