Species Discovery and Population Dynamics of Coccoid Algae in Itasca State Park, Minnesota

Dr. Marvin Fawley, Professor of Biology 

Dr. Karen Philips, Research Associate

NDSU Department of Biology

NDSU researchers have received a $400,000 three-year grant to study and identify algae in the lakes and wetlands of Minnesota's Itasca State Park. The grant from the National Science Foundations' Microbial Observatory program will allow Marvin Fawley, professor of botany, and Karen Phillips, research associate, to search for previously unknown micro-organisms.

"They are very small, but are ecologically very important organisms," Fawley said of the algae found in area lakes and bogs. "In a prairie there are grasses, in a forest there are trees and in aquatic systems there are algae. They are one of most important primary producers in many systems." 

Phycologists estimate that as many as 1 million species of algae remain to be discovered and named. Often referred to simply as "little round green things" even by scientists, the algae Fawley and Phillips will study can be perplexing to identify and understand.

"We know very little about them. The difficulty of working with these algae is they are so small and have so few morphological features that they are very difficult to identify," said Fawley, who will be using molecular methods such as examining DNA sequences to study the organisms.

Itasca State Park, according to Fawley, is internationally known for the diversity of algae found there. "It's a unique area that is a very good place for our work," he said.

The project will investigate the diversity, population dynamics and physiological ecology of algae. The researchers expect, among other things, to discover new taxa of coccoid algae, develop reliable genetic criteria for identification purposes, establish a reference collection and determine distribution patterns in different lake types.

Fawley plans to collect samples from seven to eight sites over a one-year period. Coccoid algae will then be isolated through ribosomal RNA sequence-based techniques and by their physiological tolerances and biochemical characteristics.

Fawley expects to discover more than 100 new species of algae in the Itasca area lakes. "These studies should truly revolutionize our understanding of the temporal distribution, environmental requirements and population dynamics of these important organisms," he said, noting that the work should result in the establishment of new genera, families and orders of coccoid algae.

This new grant was a direct outgrowth of the ND WRRI Graduate Student Fellowship project of Karen Phillips for her doctoral degree. 

Project technical summary