A Preliminary Assessment of Benthic Algal Communities and Physical Habitat at Several Locations within the Minnesota River Watershed

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

View/Download File

Persistent link to this item

Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

A Preliminary Assessment of Benthic Algal Communities and Physical Habitat at Several Locations within the Minnesota River Watershed

Published Date

1991

Publisher

University of Minnesota Duluth

Type

Technical Report

Abstract

Stream ecosystems are influenced by environmental factors that occur at a variety of scales (Minshall 1988). Biological monitoring within the Minnesota River Assessment project has focused on comparisons of large watersheds in relation to fish and invertebrate communities. The primary objectives of the present study were to make a preliminary evaluation of benthic algal communities that exist among several representative streams in the Minnesota watershed and to attempt to identify limiting features to their abundance and productivity. Algal communities play an important role within stream systems due to their importance to invertebrates and fish as food, as moderators of ambient nutrient concentrations, and as indicators of stream condition. Stream periphyton communities can be limited by a variety of factors including light (Mclntire et al. 1964, Hill and Knight 1988), nutrients (Patrick 1966, Pringle and Bowers 1984), and turbidity (Munn et al. 1989). One effective means of examining algal growth and productivity has been through the use of nutrient diffusing substrates (Pringle and Bowers 1984, Lowe et al. 1986). This technique along with measurements of physical and chemical parameters and examination of natural community composition was used to survey algae in mainstem and tributary sites.

Description

Related to

Replaces

License

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Suggested citation

Richards, Carl. (1991). A Preliminary Assessment of Benthic Algal Communities and Physical Habitat at Several Locations within the Minnesota River Watershed. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/187213.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.