PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 5: Aquatic Ecology: System Heterogeneity
Monday, August 8, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 515 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal

The effects of bryophyte morphology on epiphytic diatom distribution within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Knapp, Jessica^*,1, Lowe, Rex¹, ¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green, OH

ABSTRACT- Diatoms and aquatic bryophytes have specific habitat requirements and are easily accessible in the field, making them ideal taxa for assessing water quality and environmental change. Although they both inhabit the same substrates within streams, there is a lack of information regarding the relationship between these two indicator organisms. In this study, we examined the relationship between bryophytes and their epiphytic diatom communities from streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We hypothesized that bryophyte morphologies with more crevices between leaves would provide algae with a more protected micro-environment, resulting in a higher density of diatoms compared to bryophytes with greatly exposed leaves. In addition, we expect that bryophytes rich in crevices will have a high relative abundance of taxa that prefer little to no flow. Diatom community structure on bryophytes was determined using light microscopy. Using scanning electron microscopy, bryophytes were examined to compare the distribution and density of diatoms on the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of leaves. There is a significant difference (ANOVA p<0.001) in diatom density when considering bryophyte type and leaf surface. Results of this study will better our understanding of the ecological requirements of diatoms.

Key words: diatom, bryophyte, stream, algae