Physiological experiments on some algae of Great Salt Lake

Very little investigation has been made of the plant life of Great Salt Lake, either of a scientific nature or otherwise. So far as the author of this paper knows, but one attempt has been made in the past to scientifically classify the flora of the lake, and that attempt was interrupted before it had reached a successful conclusion, so that no publication of the work was made. The original purpose of this paper was to determine, if possible, the effect as to size o:f cells and rapidity of growth of different densities of Great Salt Lake water on a species of Chlamydomonas which is found there. The problem, then, was to have been purely a physiological one. During the course of investigations along this line, however, other interesting things presented them- selves, and a deviation was made from the first plan, so that finally observations were extended to include every species of plant found in the part of the lake investigated.

UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES QK 3.5 1910 • D34 ARCHIVE PHYSIOLOGICAL fil.~RRIMENTS OU SOME ELG.AF, OF GREAT SALT LAKE. .......... "t.., .... ._ ............ by LYM.AN L. · DAilTES. Presented as partial ful~illment of the requirements ~or the degree of Master of Arts. DEP..A.RTM:ENT OF BOT .AlIT, mnVERSITY OF UT.AR, June, 1910. Approved by:- PHYSIOLOGICAL EXPERI1lEUTS OM SO:M:E ALGAE OF GREAT SALT L.AKE. Very little investigation has beei:i \ii!~~\;Li;f plant life of Great Salt Lake I eith.~~\ i · nature or otherwise. f~- scientifi~<,~\ So far as th~:\ ~doJ Ebf fhl~\ ape·~:~:- knows, but one attempt has been made in the past to scientifically classify the flora of the lake, and that attempt was interrupted before it had reached a successful conclusion, so that no publication of the work was made. Brief mention of what literature we have on this subject seems not to be out of place here. Professor Farlow (1879) published a description of a Blue-green Alga, PolycY.stis packardii. Dr. A. Rothpletz (1892) makes mention of the presence of certain genera of Blue-green Algae, connecting them with the formation o:f peculiar oolitha on shore. Dr. Rothpletz did his work as a geologist, .from a geological point of view. He made no systematic study of the lake ( .from a botanical stand po int. The genera o:f Algae he mentions, - Gleothece and Gleocystis, - we have been unable to find in the part of the lake studied, and it might . be said too, that the connection between these and the ooliths has not been generally accepted, even by geologists. H. F. Moore(l8?9), in reporting on the feasibility o:f introducing useful marine animals into the waters o:f the lake, nv~kes mention, brie.fly, of the presence o:f - 2 - diatoms. As diatoms constitute the chht f' food of the 1 oyster, their presence was of considerable importance in the investigation, and esp~cially since they are found in greatest abundance .at the mouths of rivers where the density of: the water is more favorable for the development of the oys~er. Dr. James E. Talmage (1900) speaks of the presence of at least three species of algae, - not naming themand, besides these, he calls attention to the presence of diatoms beds off from ru~ore, as well as living diatoms in the lake. Miss Tilden published in her distribution entitled "American Algae", several species .from Great Salt Lake. This distribution has not been available; there.fore, more definite mention of it cannot be made. They are as follows: Aphanothece utahensi.s, no. 297, Polycystis packard1i, no. 298, Dichothrix ytahensis, no. 288, Enteromornha marginata, no. 266, Enteromorpha tubulosa, no. 262, qhara contraria, no. 255. No other proof of the presence of abundant plant life, in the lake, is needed, than the presence o:f a .fauna, abundant in individuals, i.f not in species • .And no f'uther demonstra~ion of the :presence o:f this fauna is required, than .for one to visit the lake and see, with ) his own eyes, the ·water literally teeming with animal li.fe. The presence of plants is not so evident+ to the casual observer, although, at certain times o.f the year, - 3 - clumps ?f greenish 1naterial, which must at least suggest a vegetable growth, are very plentiful. Areas of a green sewn on the surface of the water in more or less protected places also give evidence, directly, of the presence of plants. The original purpose of this paper was to determine, if possible, the effect as to size o:f cells and rapidity of growth of different densities of Great Salt Lake water on a species of Chlamydomona s which is found there. The problem, then, was to have been purely a physiological one. During the course of investigations along this line, however, other interesting things presented themselves, and a deviation was made from the first plan, so that finally observations were extended to include every species of plant found in the part of the lake investigated • . The observations iw.de covered a small portion of the southern end of the lake at what is kno~vn as Saltair Beach. This place is easily accessible, and is at such a distance from any stream entering the lake, that the density of the water there is not effected to any degree. The following plants are found regularly in the water at that place: A green Alga, Chlamydomonas sp., which has been examined by Dr. N. L. Gardner. Dr. Gardner believes it to be a new species, - he has not yet published a description, - near to Chlamydomonas gloeocystiformis Dill, - 4 - and Chlamydomonas al) iocyst Lformis 1-·~rtari. It has a rich green color, and occurs, during the warmer weather, on the sur.face of the water in many more protected places. It is .found in less numbers in whatever decaying plant or animal material may be present. The indications are that this is one o.f the means the plant has of surviving the winter; since such material brought into the laboratory in the very coldest weather, has later developed a rich green growth of the Alga. A Blue-green Alga, determination of which has been made by Professor W. A. Setchell. He says that it certainly is an Aphanothece, and is undoubtedly the same plant as the one named Polycystis packardii by Farlow, and probably al :so the same as the one distributed by Miss Tilden from the Great Salt Lake and named by her Aphdnothece utahensis. , On the authority of Professor Setchell, we shall designate it Aphanothece -packardii. The plant occurs in small masses, irregular in size, .floating in the water and p iled up by the waves on shore. These masses show a gradation in color from a deep bluegreen, to light brown; and even colorless; this depending, no doubt, on the conditions of the plants in the individ- ual clumps, and not, as has been sugg 8sted (Talmage,1900), on a v ariety of species in the clumps. amination o:f l~IJ:icroscopic ex- this ma terial, shov,s the individual plants in the mature condition, and also in various stages of division by fission. Great numbers of the cells are held - 5 - together by their gelatinous secretions. The individ- ual plants average about two micra in diameter. Microscopic examination of the lake water reveals at least two species of Diatoms. They probably belong to the genera Navic,11 '1 and Cy,mbella. These plants do not occur in sufficient numbers, in the denser water about Saltair, to be seen with the naked eye. The fact that putrefaction and decay are taking place in the water, especially near to shore, where organic material is abundant, shows conclusively that bacteria are present. Here it may be well to suggest that at least some of the :plants distributed by Miss Tilden as Great Salt L-ake plants, in all probability came from the fresher waters at and near the mouths of rivers, or in the bays i'o:nned by the rivers at their place of ent :rance into the lake. As the present observations were con.fined to the denser waters, even an indication of the plants referred to,- with t he one exce ption noted, - was not noted. For the physiological work, wat er was transferred from the lake to the laboratory, in suf'ficient amount to make a number of series of d'i:lut ions in glass aqm1~ria. These series included solutions of different density, varying in specific g ravity from 1.0115 to 1.222,- saturated solution. Masses, - large in some series, but small in one,of Aphanothece packardii were pl a ced in these solutions, - 6 - and, in every case, enough 6hlamydomonas sp. was thus introduced to start a more or less .flourishing growth. From time to time, measurements were made of the Chlamydomomrn sp. present in the solutions, and during the first few months indications pointed very strongly to the fact that a reduction in size followed transplanting into less dense solutions. The following table shows the resuits obtained with the first series. No. 1 contains the water as obtained from the lake. Analysis of a sample of this (1910) gives the fol1 owing results: Constituents. Grams_J~e r Litre. Total solids Chlorine so+ :t- radical M'.·a g ne s i tun Calcium Sodium Potassitun Total of constituents Sa.l ini ty %of Sample Taken. 242.25 20.887 126.35 16.00 . 5.18 0.98 85.10 8.82 242.45 213.32 10.91 1.38 0.45 0.08 7.25 0.76 20.83 18.39 %of Total Solids 52.23 6.65 2.14 0.39 34.68 3.66 99.75 88.09 Solutions O and 00 were allowed to become further concentrated by evaporation in the laboratpry. Nos. 2 to 8 inclusive were diluted with distilled water. The first measurements were made some time after the series was started to allo,v the pl a nts to become accustomed to the new conditions, only, indeed, after multiplication had begun. Bl a nk spaces in the table indicate that no motile zo b srJore s were :pre sent at tha t time in the solution. - ? - Series No.~ started October 8, 1909. Measurements. No. o:f Sol ution. Density. Dec .15, '09. Jan. 13 , ' 10 . Feb .14, ' 10. 00 0 l ., 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1.222 1 . 1825 1 . 1580 1.1239 1.1088 1 . 0822 1.0613 1.0400 1.01 90 1.0115 -- 13x? 1( 13x?.251 13x5 t 12x5 'I 12 . 5x5 y 9x4. 5 J 13x6 . 5 1 12x. 5 f llx5 ,y 12x6. 5-1 llx4.3 1 9x5 fif 8.5x5 1 Mar .10 , ' 1 O• Apr . 16 , 1 10 • June 15, 1 10 Average. 00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 11. 7x6.? 'f 12x5 . 4 1 llx5 r 11. 2x,1. 5 'ff ll.25x5.5 ,y 9x5. 5 r 9x4. 5 "Cf llx6.5 ,y 12x6 -ff llx6 y llx6 -t, 10x5. 5 y 1 0x5.5 J 10x5 "( B. 5x4.5 r 10x5 r 15x10 1 15x1 0 7 12x? 10x5 {f 9x5 1 10x5 y 10x6 1 13. 3x8 .3 -y 13 . ?x? .8 y 12. 2x6.l -y 11 . 2x5.2 y 10 . 8x5 . 1 tt 11. 4x5. 6 <t 10.3x4 . 9 J 9.25x5 8 . 7x5 1 O. 3x5. 8 '11 This table seems to show a slight diminution in size as we pass .from the more dense to the less dense solutions, with the exception of' the last and least dense o.f the solutions. It must be said that it is very di.fficult in meas uring Chlamydomona s zoospo r es to make definite comparisons a s to size. The size of the individual cells even in one solution va ries so greatly that one can only obtain an average of the size and then very roughly. The measure- ments recoyded in the table, and all others made, represent t h e average size o:f the l a rger cells in the solutions as .far a.sit was possible under the circumst ances to measure them. r The results from the other series did not corroborate definitely the results shown for the first series. Therefo re , the only conclusion which can be drawn is; that so far a s the present work has shown, variations in density of the water of Great Salt Lak e , cause no corresponding variations in size of Q___hlamydomona s cells. In every series but one, decided growt h of the Ch].amyd omonG.a sp. began first in t he dilutions about #5, and appe a red the n in order up to #1, #O, and #OO, and then down from #6 to 1/8. a Solutions =//-4, #3, and #2, 8,s rule, showed a greater abundance of the zoospores, ju~ng from depth of the green color g iven to the solutions by them. The indication is, that water somewhat less dense than that normally present in the lake at its present level is most .fa vorable to development of Chlarnydomonas sp. Aphanothece packa,rdii does not grow well · in the laboI·atory cultures. It was interesting to note that they Jest their blue-green color and died in the weakest solutions first; this conditi on following regul a rly up the series to the most dense solutions. results. This species gave us no .further Whether this failure was due to the weak sol u- t ions being particularly unf avorable to the alga, or whether it merely indicates that this .form is difficu.Jt to keep under labo ratory conditions, is not certain. latter seems the more likely conclusion . The - 9 - The diatoms recovered .from the dense waters, on being trans.ferred to the weake r solutions in the laboratory, multiply readily a nd actuall y thrive, giving large masses of the chara cteristic brovm growth. In every seri e s, a£ter about a month in the laboratory, solutions 1,/:1 a nd #2 show a very .few 1 i v-e .forms which soon die. 4'13 a few persist ; but in In =/l4, # 5, #6, a nd #1, they appear abundantly and c ont inue to multiply indefinitely. tb.e live plant s are again not very numerous. In //=8 These ob- servations are in complete harmony with the statements (1899) that the diatoms a re .found in great abundance in the sho aler, fresher waters ne a r to the mouths of the rivers emptying into the lake . They a re reported to be especially numerous on the alluvial fans at the mouth\$ ... of both the Bear and the Jordan Rivers (1899). The re sults seem to indicate that the diatoms obtained are true Salt Lake .forms, but have become adapted · to less severe c«l>nditions than p:revail in the denser waters. That they are not fresh water forms which have accidentally .found their way into the lake, is suggested by the f act that they do not th1·i ve in the le a st dense o.f the solutions o.f any of' the seri e s. · In every series, a cloudiness in the solution appeared a s a result of bacteri ~l growth,·but the order o~ appear a nce in every case was .from t h e le ast dense solutions up to the most dense. This cloudiness soon dis- appeared to reappear at irregul ar intervals. These - 10 - facts led to an attempt to determine at le a st the number of speci e s o:f b a cteria wh ich ma y be found in the part of the l ake s t ud ied. So f a r a s we c a n dete rmine, no at- tent ion wha tever has been g iven t his ph a se of the question in the past. Fiv e d i st inct org a nisms, which have ad apted them- selves to c on dition s t here, we r e isol at ed in pure culture s. lfo det a iled s tudy was made of them t o determine t h eir sp e ci e s, but enough lims done to le ave no doubt as to the ir b e ing at l east sepa r a te varieties, if one may judge from distinct differe n ces in cul t ural and morpholog ical cha r a cteristics. Water obt a ined from the lake under the strictest precaution s , was at f i r s t pl ated on phosphor escent, or salt agar, which consists o:f 40 cc. of normal sodium hydroxide and 25 g rams so d ium chlo :r ide, to 1000cc. of pl a in ag a r. Late1; s&~pl e s of t he wat er we r e pl at ed on gel a tins conta ini ng diff e re nt amount s of the normal Na OH, and Na Cl. Better re suits we r e obt a ined with the salt ag a r t han wi t h the ·gel a tin. Lat er, pl a in agar was used wi t h good. re r::; ults. The numb er of b s. cter ia pe r c.c. var~sbe twe en 200 and 625, counts h aving b e en made from a number of samples t aken in the colde s t weathe r, - wat er 33 F., - as well as in the wanner we a ther. A very intere sting f a ct developed; that of the five microorganisms isol at ed, three a re decided chromogens, - 11 - each producing abundant pigment. Of the five, one is a diplococcus, which appears sometimes in tetrads and singly. used. It forms large white colonies on the media The other four are bacilli. The one producing no pigment, forms delicate white colonies on the solid media. Of the chromogens, one produces a lemon-yellow; a second produces a bright orange; and the third pro- duces a violet pigment. CONCLUSIONS. 1. Variations in density of the water of Great Salt Lake, cause no corresponding va,ri a tions in the size o .f Chl amydomona s sp. cells. 2. The indication is, that water somewhat less dense than tha t normally present in the lake, at its present level, is most .favorable to the development of Chlamvdomonas sp. 3. The diatoms r)resent in the lake multiply best in water much less dense than the dense water at Saltair. 4. At le a st four species of Algae are to be .found in the }Jart of the l e..ke investigated. 5. At least five varieties , - possibly species, - of bacteria have adapt ed t}:emselves to the severe conditions in the lake. In conclusion, I wish to he art ily thank Professor C. T. Vorh ies for the assistance he has given me in the preparation of this paper. - 12 - LITERATURE. * 1879. - Farlow Article by Packard, A. S 91Jr . .Arner. Nat. , Vol. 13, p. 701-703. 1892. - Rothpletz, A. Bot. Centr., p. 35 .. . .: ..: ..... . : .... .·.... .•:.. ....... .... . . ·......... . .. 9 .... " • .... " •. 1899. - Moore, .c.. F • •• ••• • • The Fe as ibility o.ff::tntroducing Usefu.J:·:~arine Animals into .}13."e WatEiiitJ::t>f. p::$.La~,·~ t1fash D, • C• ··· :.. : ~.:: ·. :·::··. :• · • :.· YI . • ' •o • ••• • • "t_T .• ••• • 1900. - Talmage, James E., Tne Great Salt Lake - Present an d Past p. 76. Salt Lake City. 1910. - Ma c.farlane, The Water Thesis). (1910) of Pro.fessor Wall a ce. o.f the Great Salt Lake (Bachelor's (Read before the summer meeting the Arn.er. Chemic a l Societ y by W. C. Ebau.gh, at San Francisco.) * This p ape r h a s not been ava ilable.