Living Algal Community Voucher and Taxonomy in Dickinson County Iowa: A Case for Collection-Based Research

Integrative taxonomy is necessary for advancing the field of phycology and understanding regional algal diversity. Collection-based studies for the purposes of providing descriptive voucher flora of living algal communities inform future long-term monitoring and genetic barcoding studies. In this study, littoral composite samples were taken from eight sites (Center Lake, Emerson Bay, Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve, Millers Bay, East Okoboji Lake, West Okoboji Lake, Big Spirit Lake, Upper Gar Lake) in Dickinson County, Iowa, for the purposes of fine level taxonomy. This region has a history of eutrophication, and algal blooms have caused Iowa water resource issues in the past. Micrography for these voucher floras was conducted for taxa representing at least 10% or more of the total estimated algal biomass of evaluated slides. Our voucher floras comprise micrographs of living cells across nine different algal groups and 54 unique taxonomic entities. Unique taxa from these sites include Glaucocystis nostochinearum Itzigsohn, Draparnaldia acuta (C.Agardh) Kutzing, and Chaetophoropsis elegans (Roth) B. Wen Liu, Qian Xiong, X.Dong Liu, Z. Yu Hu & G. Xiang Liu. We also document species belonging to toxin-producing Cyanobacteria genera Mycrocystis and Dolichospermum.