XVI International Botanical Congess

It is known that many algae are able to survive very long periods of dessication within the soil. For this to occur these organisms must also be able to withstand higher concentrations of salts produced by the evaporation of water from around the clay micelles. This study was designed to determine (1) the limits of salt tolerance, and (2) the morphological changes accompanying increased concentrations of salt (NaCl) in the following species of soil algae: Hormidium flaccidum, Trebouxia erici, Spongiococcum alabamensis, Tetracystis intermedium, Scenedesmus dimorphus, and Protosiphon botryoides. While some species exibited great tolerance, others clumped, formed gelatinous sheaths, fragmented, and/or lost their characteristic morphology. Some evidence of polymorphism was displayed.