Investigation of some characteristics of the Nitella population in Mountain Lake, Giles County, Virginia

Abstract

The Nitella which grows in Mountain Lake, Giles County, Virginia, was investigated and found to be Nitella megacarpa (T.F.A.) em. R.D.W. after N. furcata subsp. megacarpa and not N. flexilis (L.) Ag. as previously reported. Internodal cell length was found to increase with depth, pigment content changed with depth, biomass distribution had decreased since an earlier study, primary productivity was low and was associated with the depth of maximum biomass and pigment content, and the furcations of the branchlets increased in shallower water.