New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts
Short communication Impacts of riparian afforestation on stream biofilms:
an exotic forest-native grassland comparison
Ross M. Thompson*
Colin R. Townsend
Department of Zoology
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
*Present address: Centre for Biodiversity Research, University
of British Columbia, 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Abstract The nature of benthic biofilm was assessed
in four streams in New Zealand, two flowing through native tussock grassland
and two through exotic Pinus radiata forest. Components of the biofilm
were described using epi-fluorescent staining (DAPI) and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) of rock and wood substrata. DAPI and SEM analyses showed
significantly more bacteria and fungi on rock and wood in tussock as opposed
to pine streams. This emphasises the importance of the heterotrophic community
even in systems which have abundant light available for primary production.
The lack of a significant heterotrophic biofilm in pine streams was unexpected,
and we speculate that chemical characteristics of the water may be responsible.
Keywords benthic biofilms; afforestation; substrata;
fungi
M02095; Online publication date 24 November 2004 Received 6 December
2002; accepted 5 July 2004
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2004, Vol. 38:
895–902
0028–8330/04/3805–0895 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2004
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