New Distribution and Rare Records of Microalgae from Aquatic Microcosms of Guzmania lingulata (L.) Mez (Bromeliaceae)

Abstract

The aquatic microcosm of bromeliads provides a unique ecological niche that supports the occurrence of a rare and diverse collection of microalgal species. Taxonomic keys, photomicrographs, and morphological descriptions were used to identify each of the microalgal species. A total of 18 microalgal species were identified from aquatic microcosms of Guzmania lingulata in the gardens of florist wholesalers in Laguna, Philippines. Of these taxa, four species were identified both for Chlorophyceae and Bacillariophyceae, three species for Zygnematophyceae, two species each for Euglenophyceae, Trebouxiophyceae, and Cyanophyceae, and one species for Ulvophyceae. The survey reports an additional nine species (Lepocinclis marssonii, Lepocinclis fusiformis, Encyonema minutum, Volvox aureus, Lacunastrum gracillimum, Crucigeniella crucifera, Acutodesmus dimorphus, Cosmarium garrolense, and Cladophora sp.) as new records of phytotelm microalgae in the global inventory list and 11 new taxa as additional records of microalgae in aquatic microcosms found in Asia. Also, the existence of three rare microalgae, Lepocinclis marssonii Lemmermann, Crucigeniella crucifera (Wolle) Komárek, and Cosmarium garrolense J. Roy & Bisset are taxonomically described as new records in the Philippines. The floristic survey provided new distributional and taxonomic records of microalgae found in aquatic microcosms of Guzmania lingulata in the Philippines.