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Potential Long‐distance Dispersal of Freshwater Diatoms Adhering to Waterfowl Plumage by Faye S. Manning; P. Jeff Curtis; Ian R. Walker; Jason Pither is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.
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## Abstract Waterfowl are potential long‐distance dispersal vectors for aquatic microbes such as diatoms, but supporting empirical data are scarce, especially concerning external transport on feathers. We conducted an experiment designed to partially emulate diatom dispersal via adherence to waterfowl, and to evaluate the effects of relative humidity (RH) and exposure time on viability. We dipped individual breast feathers from mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in a pure culture of the freshwater diatom Nitzschia pusilla Grunow, then, at room temperature (22.7°C), subjected them to one of four contrasting levels of RH (c. 8%, 35%, 70%, 88%) crossed with one of four exposure times (10, 60, 120, 240 min) within a chamber through which air was passed continuously, mimicking light wind that might be experienced by diatoms adhered to subsurface feathers. We then gently placed the feather on sterile growth medium. After 2 weeks, we used spectrofluorometry to detect diatom growth and thus diatom viability. We found that exposure time and RH interacted significantly to affect diatom viability: the negative effect of exposure time was strongest under low RH conditions, but under high RH (88%) t
Who reads Potential Long‐distance Dispersal of Freshwater Diatoms Adhering to Waterfowl Plumage?
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- Author
- Faye S. Manning; P. Jeff Curtis; Ian R. Walker; Jason Pither
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021
- Language
- EN
- Field
- Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)