Epiphyton Pigment Indices in the River Section of the Kaniv Reservoir (Ukraine)

Abstract

The content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll <i>a, b, c</i> and carotenoids) was studied in algal epiphyton of nine species of higher aquatic plants of various ecological groups occurring in the river section of the Kaniv Reservoir. It has been found that these indices varied over a wide range. Thus, in the fouling of emergent plants, the content of chlorophyll <i>a</i> was 0.9 μg/g of the dry mass of plant substratum, in epiphyton of submerged plants it varied from 15.4 to 62.4 μg/g, and in that of plants with floating leaves-from 3.1 to 11.0 μg/g. The content of chlorophyll <i>b</i> and <i>c</i> in epiphyton of submerged plants accounted for 1.0 and 8.5 μg/g, respectively, in that of plants with floating leaves - 0.5 and 2.1 μg/g, and in the fouling of emergent plants - 0.1 and 0.2 μg/g. The concentration of carotenoids in the fouling of emergent plants was 0.7 μgSPU/g of the dry mass of plant substratum, in epiphyton of submerged plants it varied from 13.2 to 49.3 μgSPU/g, and in that of plants with floating leaves it was within 2.5-9.5 μgSPU/g. It has been found that the content of chlorophyll <i>a</i> and carotenoids in algal epiphyton of higher aquatic plants correlates with its biomass.