Phytoplankton samples were collected on May 12, 2026 at Bullock’s Reach and analyzed in the laboratory shortly after collection.
On this day, the water temperature was 13.60 °C, the salinity was 22.93 PSU, and the chlorophyll a was 8.36 µg/L.
It was sunny and clear on this day. The qualitative tow net sample had a short filtration time and contained a large volume of copepods.
The analysis of the quantitative whole water sample revealed a total of 749,000 cells/L. The microflagellates were found at 673,000 cells/L. The most predominant phytoplankton genera were Silicoflagellate spp. at 40,000 cells/L, Skeletonema spp. at 13,000 cells/L, and Unknown Diatom spp. at 10,000 cells/L.
200x phase contrast image of Pediastrum spp.
Pediastrum is a genus of freshwater green algae found in lakes, ponds and along shores where water is rich in nutrients such as nitrogen. They are nonmotile and form flat colonies with concentric rings that resemble snowflakes. These groupings can both improve their buoyancy in the water column and help prevent predation.