Attached pond algae:

List for my garden pond at Shewington.


Algae were settled on slides in the pond for a period, then allowed to grow on in filtered pond water.

Some identifications are unconfirmed ('?').

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2000, 2001
2002, 2004, 2005
Description

Achnanthes

+

Diatom

Achnanthidium minutissima

+

Diatom

Amphora veneta

+

Diatom

Ankistrodesmus

+

Chlorophyte; long, pointed cells linked in middle.

Aphanochaete  

 

Chaetophoracean Chlorophyte, epiphytic, with hair cells

Apiocystis 

 

 

 

Chlorophyte, forming club-shaped colonies in a mucilaginous sheath. Note the pseudocilia.
In contrast to Tetraspora, the cells are distributed throughout the mucilage

Askenasyella  

 

The cells are at the end of short, individual stipes

Asterococcus  

The name derives from the stellate (star-shaped) chloropasts

Binuclearia  

Filamentous Chlorophyte, cells in a lamellate mucilaginous tube

Botryococcus  

 

  more

Chlorophyte, cells almost totally obscured within a dense matrix containing oil: colonies linked by mucilaginous threads

Bulbochaete

 

?

 

Chlorophyte, Oedogoniales: has bulbous cells with long spines

Calothrix  

Cyanobacterium, tapering filament with a basal heterocyst

Chaetophora 

Chaetophoracean Chlorophyte, much branched

Chaetopeltis  

 

Chaetosphaeridium  

 

a colony of globular cells, each with a sheathed seta

Characium  

Chlorophyte. Cells are attached by a short stipe

Chlorosarcina
(Prescott)

Chlorophyte. Note the close mucilage sheath

Chlorosarcinopsis  
(Prescott)

 

Chlorophyte. This colony has no sheath

Chrysosphaera paludosa
 
Chrysophyte. Frequently epiphytic, in 16-celled coenobia.
Closterium


 

Desmid

Cocconeis sp.

+

Diatom

Coenochloris ?
 
Chlorophyte, coenobia of cells in multiples of 2 in a mucilaginous envelope

Coleochaete orbicularis

 


Chlorophyte, characterised by most cells having a sheathed seta (hair)
Coleochaete

Coleochaete irregularis

   

The filamentous form occurs in 2 versions: one has a definite margin to the cell while the other appears to be surrounded by a watery mucilage

Cosmarium abbreviatum
 
Desmid

Cosmarium galeritum

?

Desmid

Cosmarium subcrenatum 

Desmid

Crucigenia

+

   

Chlorophyte, cells regularly arranged in multiples of 4 in mucilaginous coenobium

Crucigeniella irregularis  
 
Chlorophyte, cells irregularly arranged in multiples of 4 in mucilaginous coenobium
Cylindrocystis   
 
Saccoderm desmid (Chlorophyta)

Cymbella ?cistula

+

Diatom

Desmococcus

+

Chlorophyte, cells in groups formed by division in 3 planes, most commonly found growing subaerially on trees, fences, etc.

Dimorphococcus
 
  Chlorophyte, cells at the end of branching gelatinous strands, but kidney-shaped rather than globular like Dictyosphaerium

Dispora  

 

Chlorophyte. Not listed in FAFBI, but present in Algaebase

Elaktothrix gelatinosa
Chlorophyte, colonial in a mucilage sheath

Encyonema

+

Diatom

Euastrum insulare .  

 

Desmid

Eunotia minor  

Diatom

?Fernandinella alpina  
 
Colonial Chlorophyte.

Gloeocystis  

     

Chlorophyte. Cells are in a mucilage sheath, often seen to have concentric layers: no pseudocilia (cf. Tetraspora)

Gomphonema  

 

Diatom

Gomphonema angustatum  
 

Diatom

Hormidium  

   

Filamentous Chlorophyte

more

Microspora 11µm.  

 

 

Filamentous Chlorophyte with H-shaped wall structures

more

Microthamnion  

 

   

The cells are less than 5µm broad: this is a Chaetophoracean, relative of Stigeoclonium

Mischococcus

 

 

 

 

 

   

Mischococcus, a Xanthophyte, is superficially similar to Dictyosphaerium, but the cells are in linear groups of 1-4 at the ends of gelatinous tubes, rather than in pairs at the end of dichotomously branching threads

Mougeotia 20 µm.  

 

Chlorophyte, axial band chloroplast with pyrenoids more

Mougeotia 25 µm.  

 

 

 

Naegeliella  

 

 

 

Chrysophyte: these 2 adjacent images show the colony and the branching gelatinous hairs

Navicula sp.

Diatom

Navicula protractoides

Diatom

Nephrocytium

 

+

Chlorophyte, groups of 4 kidney-shaped cells in a mucilage envelope.

Nitzschia gracilis

+

Diatom

Nostoc  

Colonial cyanobacterium

Oedogonium 6µm
with long calyptra

Chlorophyte, Oedogoniales. Cells typically taper and have growth rings at the distal end.

Oedogonium 6µm
no long calyptra  

 

Oedogonium 11µm
no long calyptra

+
 

Oedogonium 11µm
+ long calyptra  

+
 

Oedogonium 15µm
+long calyptra  

The calyptra is an extension of the terminal cell

Oedogonium 15µm
no long calyptra  

 

Oedogonium 30µm
no long calyptra

+
 

Ophiocytium  

   

Xanthophyte

Oscillatoria  

 

Filamentous Cyanobacterium, motile

Phormidium

+
Filamentous Cyanobacterium, in a thin mucilage sheath

Pseudanabaena

Filamentous Cyanobacterium, very narrow cells with a beaded appearance
Quadricoccus
Chlorophyte, forms coenobia in a mucilage envelope

Selenastrum quadricaudum

Chlorophyte, found in groups of 4 cells
?Sphaerobotrys
 
Colonial Chlorophyte

Spirogyra  

Filamentous Chlorophyte with characteristic spiral chloroplasts

Stauroneis anceps

+
Diatom

Stauroneis legumen

Diatom

Stigeoclonium farctum  

 

 

Chaetophoracean genus, with basal and erect system and terminal hair cells.
more

Stigeoclonium helveticum  

   

more

Stigeoclonium tenue  

 

more

?Tetrachlorella alternans  
 
Chlorophyte, typically in coenobial, cells in multiples of 4

Tetraspora  


 

Chlorophyte: the pseudocilia may or may not be visible. Cells are in 2's or 4's at the periphery of the mucilage.

Tribonema 4µm.  

Xanthophyte, like Microspora, this genus has walls composed of H-shaped fragments

Uronema  
   
Chlorophyte, with pointed apical cell and tapering basal cell with holdfast, single parietal chloroplast

For more pond algae see the collection from Kindrogan Pond: here

John Kinross

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Page updated 15/12/2019