A comparison of the levels of manganese and iron in the tests ofTrachelomonasEhrenb. In Surrey rivers

Abstract

A microprobe analyzer was used to investigate the elemental composition of the tests, or envelopes, of the euglenoid alga Trachelomonas Ehrenb. collected during a survey of the temporal and spatial distribution of algae in the rivers Wey and Mole, 2 lowland rivers of southeastern England. The majority of those collected from the river Mole contained considerably more Mn than Fe, whereas those from the river Wey contained mainly Fe with frequently insignificant quantities of Mn. Preliminary attempts were made to correlate these observations with the concentrations of these elements in the 2 rivers. There did not seem to be any correlation between the numbers of envelopes in which Mn was detected and the proportion which was darkly pigmented.