Preliminary Notes on the Ecology of Freshwater Algae in the Arctic Slope, Alaska, with Descriptions of Some New Species

Abstract

The freshwater algal flora and the limnology of the numerous lakes in the Arctic Slope of Alaska heretofore have not been investigated. In 1951, ''52 and ''53 an ecological-taxonomic study reveals an algal flora which is extremely varied in the closely approximated habitats of the tundra, although the environmental conditions would indicate a greater uniformity. A preliminary report is made on pertinent limnological conditions of certain selected lakes, which in the main are basic or alkaline. They are characterized by a diatom-cyanophycean algal flora. Small ponds and semi-permanent pools are acid, however, and are fairly rich in desmids and acidophilous chlorophycean algae. Three spp. new to science are descr.: Pseudendoclonium, arctica; Vaucheria crenulata; V. peudohamata.