Poster Details
THE INFLUENCE OF GLACIAL ERRATICS AS A HABITAT MODIFIER FOR PERIPHYTON IN A LOW ORDER LOTIC SYSTEM
Pleistocene glacial advances and retreats have led to the deposition of till throughout much of western Ohio. Sometimes this till is laced with large glacial boulders known as erratics. High concentrations of these geologic entities can be associated with prominent end moraines and nearby waterways. In northwest Ohio, the Ottawa River traverses along the Fort Wayne end moraine and, in areas of low anthropogenic influence, it has noticeable glacial erratics within its riffle habitats. The objective of this investigation was to determine if the benthic algal communities found in in proximity of the glacial erratics differed from the surrounding riffle habitat. During the winter of 2018, the benthos directly surrounding five glacial erratics (e.g., upstream, downstream) and adjacent riffle cobble substrates were collected and scrubbed for periphyton and assessed for visible macroalgal thalli. In addition, current velocity, turbidity and other selected environmental parameters were measured at each site. Comparisons of algal community structure, diversity and cell density and their response to calculated physical and chemical parameters around the glacial erratics will be discussed.
Crystal Scales (Primary Presenter/Author), Ohio Northern University, c-scales@onu.edu;
Zachary Bragg (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, z-bragg@onu.edu;
Robert Verb (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, r-verb@onu.edu;
Leslie Riley (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, l-riley.1@onu.edu;