Twenty-eight Days to a strongClimaxstrong Community A Succession.pdfVIP

Twenty-eight Days to a Climax Community: A Succession Laboratory Using Periphyton Dean DeNicola, Dept. of Biology Slippery Rock University Why Use Freshwater Periphyton? • Rapid reproduction rates means succession occurs in a matter of weeks not decades • Repeated Measures method is more intuitive for understanding succession than chronosequence • Involves the concept of species guilds (growth forms) and conceptual models in community ecology Lab Outcomes: • To contrast periphyton succession in a lake and stream based on changes in taxonomic composition • To compare successional changes in algal growth forms to published models • To understand mechanisms of succession proposed by Connel Slatyer and explain how they might apply to this study • To increase awareness and become familiar with different types of algae Unglazed clay tiles attached with silicone adhesive to cement blocks Students (or you) place blocks in high irradiance areas in a stream and in a pond or lake about 0.25 m deep Remove tiles and scrape with brush ca. Days, 4, 8, 16, and 28 Day 8 Day 16 Day 28 Students count and ID about 200 taxa (genus and growth form) from wet mounts at 400X Useful Taxonomic References To Make Up Your Own Picture Key • 1971. C.I. Weber. A guide to the common diatoms at water pollution surveillance system stations. EPA. • 1988. J. Needham. A guide to the study of freshwater biology . McGraw Hill. • 1996. E. Cox. Identification of freshwater diatoms from live material. Chapman Hall. • 1997. T.J. Entwisle et. al. Freshwater Algae in Australia . Sainty and Assoc. • 2000. M. Kelly. Identification of common benthic diatoms in rivers. Field Studies Council. Other ID Aids: Photos of common taxa