Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1945 Studies of Mississippi Algae With Special Reference to Water Supplies. Richard Lee Caylor Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Part of the Life Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Caylor, Richard Lee, "Studies of Mississippi Algae With Special Reference to Water Supplies." (1945). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 7885. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/7885 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MANUSCRIPT THESES Unpublished theses submitted for the master!s and doctor*s degrees and deposited in the Louisiana State University Library are available for inspection. Use of any thesis is limited by the rights of the author. Bibliographical references may be noted, but passages may not be copied unless the author has given permission. Credit must be given in subsequent written or published work* A library which borrows this thesis for use by its clientele is expected to make sure that the borrower is aware of the above restrictions* LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 119-a STUDIES W MISSISSIPPI ALGAE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WATER SUPPLIES A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Facility of the Louisiana State University end Agricultural and Mechanical College In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Department of Botany by Richard Lee Gaylor B*A*# Mississippi College, 1922 K*A«, Georg© Peabody College, 1931 September, 1944 UMI Number: DP69263 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. U M I' Dissertation Publishing UMI DP69263 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS fhe wllir wishes to express deepest appreciation to to* 0* W*v Mger ton for M s most helpful advice and encourage- sent during the study; to Dr* L* H* Flint for his helpful suggestions during the course of the work and valuable assist­ ance la the preparation of the manuscript; to Dr* K. C» Tims and Dr* C* W» Mgerton for asslstance in obtaining the photo­ graphs* %anks and appreciation are also extended to Dr. C* A, Brown for valuable reference material; to Dr* G* W* Prescott for inspiration and advice; and to Dr* Francis Drouet for verification and identification of some of the species of algae* n( 347405 -Sb ^ TABLE OP CONTENTS ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION........................................ 1 HISTORY AND REVIEW OP LITERATURE..................... 5 MATERIALS AND METHODS ............... 15 ALGAE OF MISSISSIPPI........... ................ 19 ALGAE OP THE WATER SUPPLIES OP THE DELTA REGION . 46 A List of the Algae of the Water Supplies of the "Delta" Region ................49 Distribution of Algae in the Water Supplies .... 58 SPECIAL PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES....................... 66 Reactions of Certain Algae In Different Media in the Laboratory ................ 66 Reactions of Scytonema Hofmann! Agardh............. 69 DISCUSSION.........................................79 SUMMARY............................................83 LITERATURE CITED ...... ....................... 85 BIOGRAPHY..........................................90 EXPLANATION OP PLATES ............................ 91 PLATES ABSTRACT The algal flora of Mississippi has received very little attention in the past* The purpose of this study was to determine the species of algae characterizing the water sup­ plies of the State, to compare the algal floras of Mississippi water supplies with those of northern States and to con­ tribute to knowledge concerning the relationship of alga© to the potability of water* The study was divided into three sub-heads: 1* Algae of Mississippi 2. Algae of the ©ater Supplies of the “Delta" Region 3* Special Physiological Studies Visits were made to water supplies in widespread sections of the State. Collections were made by the use of a plankton net with a screw cap vial attached to the bottom for easy removal* These algae were preserved in two ways; first, one saupls was placed in a small vial with formalln-acetic- alcohol preservative; second, a duplicate sample was placed upon each of three squares of mica* The specimens on mica were dried and put into envelopes* Temperature and pH wore recorded and filed with the collections. Certain water supplies of the "Delta" region were selected for critical study. These water 3 applies were visited at Intervals and samples of water and algae were collected. The temperature and pH of the water were taken and a chemical analysis of the water was secured through the waterworks engineer and the State Department of Health. The physiological studies were two-fold In purpose: (i) to aid In the determination of some of the species found In the water supplies; (2) to afford hotter understanding of the physiological reactions of algae. Laboratory methods consisted of the preparation and use of a number of media before satisfactory results were obtained. Several types of nutrient media were tried out with various algae under laboratory conditions with continuous light from fluorescent lamps. Kesults of particular interest were ob­ tained with solutions containing tryptophane and with solu­ tions containing egg yolk. The algae were examined and studied with a compound micro­ scope. Drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida and identifications were carried out as completely as possible. Lists of the al ae collected, identified, and preserved have been included as a part of this thesis. The genera of al ae found In the water supplies of the wDeltaB region included seventeen Myxophyceae, or blue-green algae, eight Baclllarieae, or yellow-green algae, and twenty Chlorophyceae, or green algae. These genera appear In the list below. MTXOPHYCEAE BACILLARIEAE CHLOKOPHYCRAE Chroococcus Fragillaria* Gloeocystis* Microcystis* Synedra* Stiehococcus Gloeocapsa* Navicula* Hormidium Holopedium Anomaeoneis tjiofchrlx^ Oscillator!a# Gyrosigma Micro spara Spirulina Pleurosigma Chae tophora*> Phormidium Stauroneis Stig©ocIonium* Lyngbya Gomphonema D rapa rnaldi a* Eostoe RhiaocIonium Schizothrix Oedogonium Microcolous* Chlorococcum* Anabaena* Palmellococeus* Plectonema* Planktosphaeria Westalla Fremyella Scenedesmus* Rivularia* Eygnema* Amphithrix Splrogyra* C&lothrix Cosmarium Desmidlum* Oocys tis^ * Those marked with asterisk have been classed as harmful in other water supplies. Those underscored are possible new trouble makers in Mississippi water supplies. Physiological and culture studies were carried out with some of the algae with three principal objectives: (1) to indue© the formation of reproductive structures and thereby extend identification, (2) to establish the practicability of such laboratory studies as an adjunct to taxonomy, and (3) to determine certain physiological and chemical charac­ teristics. In a tryptophane medium, six out of seven species of Splrogyra formed zygospores. The zygospore characters are important and sometimes essential in the differentiation of the species of this genus. The vegetative development of species of &ougeofcia# Oedogonlum, V&ucheria, and Sygnema under laboratory condi­ tions was appreciably enhanced by the use of an egg yolk solution. Numerous blue-green algae, including the genera Calo- thrix, Microcoleus, Phonnidium, and Schizothrix were cultured readily under laboratory conditions. Such culturing greatly facilitated identification, both through the numerical In­ crease In available algae material and In the development of characteristic structures. The cultural medium was thus essentially an enrichment medium. The reactions of the blue-green alga, Scytonema Hof- manni Agardh*, under laboratory conditions involving varied media and cont'nuous light were followed in some detail, Including microchemical teats. Calcium was evidenced as not essential to the growth of this alga* In the presence of calcium, however, the alga became incrusted with a conspicu­ ous deposition of calcium carbonate. Magnesium, although evidenced as essential to the growth of the alga, did not influence deposition except at toxic concentrations. INTRODUCTION The beginnings of plant life on the earth are repre­ sented In our flora by a group of primitive water plants called the algae* For the most part the algae of fresh waters are microscopic in size and inconspicuous as in­ dividuals. They have had a great appeal to the micro- scopist because of their infinite variety and beauty; but they have been considered as relics of a past age and without any important relation to our agriculture or economic life. Gradually, however, there has developed an appreciation of the great contributions made the algae to life in the