Date of Award

Summer 1988

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Program/Concentration

Biology

Committee Director

Harold G. Marshall

Committee Member

Kneeland Nesius

Committee Member

Frank P. Day, Jr.

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.B46 S54

Abstract

A monthly phytoplankton study was conducted on the Nansemond River from November 1984 to October 1985. Light microscopy was utilized to characterize the resident populations, their cell concentrations and to provide a general comparison to other regional studies of river systems considered more polluted. The results divided the flora into two major categories. The first group was a pico-nanoplankton component composed of Cyanobacteria and Chlorophycean cells 1-10 um in diameter. The second group was a microplankton assemblage of Bacillariophyceae, Dinophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanobacteria and Euglenophyceae. The pico-nanoplankton had a unimodal abundance pattern with peak concentrations occurring in spring. The microplankton demonstrated a spring and fall bimodal concentration pattern that is commonly associated with North temperate waters. A total of 65 species were identified with the majority belonging to the Bacillariophyceae (diatoms). The phytoplankton were primarily northern neritic forms that are common to Hampton Roads, the Lower Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Dominant species included Skeletonerna costatum, Heterocapsa triguetra and Cryptomonas spp.

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DOI

10.25777/sry2-mq93

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