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Fidelity of thermophilic blue‐green algae to hot spring habitats 1
Author(s) -
Jackson John E.,
Castenholz Richard W.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1975.20.3.0305
Subject(s) - hot spring , algae , spring (device) , environmental science , thermophile , habitat , temperate climate , algal mat , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , biology , geology , mechanical engineering , paleontology , biochemistry , geotechnical engineering , engineering , enzyme
Inocula of river water and sediment from the Yellowstone Plateau (Wyoming) and the Willamette Valley (Oregon) were incubated in photoautotrophic medium at 14, 35, and 45°C. Many blue‐green algal species developed at 35°C with inocula from numerous habitats. The 45°C temperature promoted the growth of blue‐green algae in samples taken downstream from a source of hot spring or possibly heated industrial waters, but not in samples from pristine waters above hot spring discharges. Most of the 45° enrichments also grew when the culture temperature was raised to 50 and 55°C. The hot spring origins of certain species were determined by their known occurrence in nearby hot springs and by the decrease in cell density with distance downstream from hot spring influents. The dilution with time and distance was partially a result of death, since tests indicated the lethal effect of light on these cells in cold river water. Nevertheless, hot spring cells were still recoverable from 2‐liter water samples 20–30 km from the point of input and occasionally at distances of over 100 km. Samples from waters of Everglades National Park (which reach 35–40°C) also contained several species of blue‐greens capable of growth at 45 and 50°C. Thus thermophilic blue‐green algae that have a growth temperature optimum of over 45°C have a high fidelity to hot spring habitats (or artificially heated waters) in temperate or colder climates, but maintenance populations of some species may become established elsewhere in warmer areas.