HR: 1330h
AN: NB33C-11    [Abstracts]
TI: The Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on Attached Wetland Algae and Bacteria
AU: * Thomas, V K
EM: vthomas1@emich.edu
AF: Department of Biology Eastern Michigan University, 316 Mark Jefferson, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 United States
AU: Kuehn, K A
EM: kkuehn@emich.edu
AF: Department of Biology Eastern Michigan University, 316 Mark Jefferson, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 United States
AU: Francoeur, S N
EM: steve.francoeur@emich.edu
AF: Department of Biology Eastern Michigan University, 316 Mark Jefferson, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 United States
AB: Despite the well-known increases in ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) reaching the Earth's surface due to the destruction of the ozone layer, little is known about effects of UV-R on wetland periphyton. To study the effects of UV-R on wetland periphyton, artificial substrata were placed under acrylic mesocosms in the Paint Creek Wetland, Ypsilanti, MI. One treatment mesocosm excluded light in the UV range (<340nm) and the other allowed the passage of full light. Periphyton attached to artificial substrata was collected on 4 dates during August and September 2004 and analyzed for Chlorophyll a, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), bacterial density, colloidal extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) and algal community composition. Over the length of the experiment the proportion of dead to live bacteria (p<0.02), EPS accrual (μgram glucose equivalents/cm²) (p=0.046), and the ratio of EPS to AFDM (p=0.027) were significantly greater in the UV-R-exposed treatment. These results suggest that ambient levels of UV-R damage periphytic bacteria and increase EPS production by periphyton.
DE: 4239 Limnology
DE: 4840 Microbiology
DE: 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)
DE: 9901 NABS Student Award - Basic Research
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly