Manganese and Diatom Algae

http://www.pnas.org/content/64/2/472.abstract

DETERMINING FACTORS IN THE PRESENCE OF DIATOM OR BLUE-GREEN ALGAL FLORAS IN STREAMS
Ruth Patrick, Bowman Crum, and John Coles
LIMNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Abstract

Diatoms are usually the major component of the algal flora in many streams, although green and blue-green algae may be present. These experiments were designed to determine if high temperature or a shift in the chemical composition of the water might bring about a dominance of blue-green algae and/or green algae rather than a dominance of diatoms in the algal flora.

The results of these experiments indicate that an average temperature of 34° to 38°C results in a shift of dominance in the algal flora from diatoms to blue-green algae. Furthermore, a blue-green and green algal flora of species typically found in organically polluted water in favored if the manganese content is a few parts per billion. If the manganese content averaged 0.02-0.043 mg/liter in the natural stream to 0.04-0.28 mg/liter in the recycled water experiment, a diatom flora remained dominant.