Limnology of Little Park Lake and Diatom Distribution on the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona

Inch, D; Blinn, D

Very little limnological information has been collected on the small, shallow aquatic habitats which characterize the North Rim of the Kaibab Plateau. The earliest known survey of the algae in these high elevation lakes was conducted by Taylor and Colton in 1928. They found North Rim systems to be dominated by members of the Chlorococcales and several species of desmids. A few other blue-greens and a single euglehoid were found, but no mention of diatoms was made. In 1965, Kidd sampled several of the lakes and noted an abundant desmid flora. The only other known work for this region was a study of pond succession by Kimmel (1969). He listed several species of Closterium and Staurastrum, and in various systems found Anabaena, Microspora, Scenedesmus and Dinobryon to be dominant. Since studies of North Rim systems have dealt primarily with species composition, a more complete limnological survey seemed necessary in order to characterize algal dynamics in these systems. In this study, an attempt has been made to determine some of the important influences of algal dynamics by closely following the physico-chemical changes within one system throughout the ice-free period. In addition, several springs, springfed tanks and ponds were surveyed, and a species list of the more common diatoms of these sytems was compiled.

Limnology of Little Park Lake and Diatom Distribution on the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona

Series