Fundamental and Applied Limnology Archiv fr Hydrobiologie Vol. 175/2: 171180, July 2009 E.

Schweizerbartsche Verlagsbuchhandlung 2009

Metabolism and ecology of the water mould, Leptomitus lacteus (Oomycota), blooming in winter in a Nova Scotia stream
Barry R. Taylor1, *, David J. Garbary1, Anthony Miller1 and Felix Brlocher2
With 5 gures and 2 tables
Abstract: The water mould Leptomitus lacteus bloomed in a small stream in northern Nova Scotia, Canada, for at least four months from December through March when water temperatures were near 0 C and the stream was frequently ice-covered. The bloom occupied much of the substratum along 1.5 km of stream below the efuent outfall from a composting facility. A true fungus, Saprochaete saccharophila, was a minor component of the bloom. L. lacteus colonies appeared robust against freezing and regrew quickly after scouring oods. L. lacteus preferred rifes and fast-owing water, evidently because of a high oxygen requirement. In mid-winter, the standing crop of L. lacteus approached 2.5 kg m2 fresh mass, or 2000 kg along the whole length of stream. The bloom ended abruptly in April when water temperatures rose above 5 C. In the laboratory, clumps of L. lacteus demonstrated vigorous oxygen consumption near 0 C. Oxidative metabolism was largely conned to the outer 6 mm of the colonies, interior to which [O2] declined precipitously. Evidence suggests that L. lacteus blooms in winter to take advantage of a rich food source and high [O2] while avoiding competition. Similar blooms of L. lacteus elsewhere may be overlooked because winter weather and ice cover discourage investigations. Key words: Leptomitus lacteus, Saprochaete saccharophila, bloom, respiration, water mould, winter.

Introduction
Leptomitus lacteus (Oomycota) is a lamentous water mould, widely distributed in owing, fresh waters of Europe, North America and Africa (e.g., Yerkes 1966, El-Hissy 1974, Willoughby & Roberts 1991, Rankovic 2005, Reithmller et al. 2006). While it may be sporadically associated with decaying vegetation in pristine environments (Willoughby & Roberts 1991), L. lacteus is a characteristic component of sewage fungus, a collective term for a community of fungi, water moulds, lamentous bacteria (especially Sphaerotilus natans) and protozoans that typically develop whitish, ragged masses on substrata in organically polluted water (Butcher 1932, Hynes 1971).
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Leptomitus lacteus is usually reported as a minor component of sewage fungus (Curtis & Curds 1971, Esho & Benson-Evans 1983), but it may dominate blooms below pulp mills (Hendry et al. 1982) and may replace S. natans in winter (Vallin 1958, Riethmller et al. 2006). Nuttall (1973) describes massive growths of L. lacteus in February through April in Cornish streams receiving drainage from landlls. Sewage fungus in an 18-km length of the Danube River switched from dominance by S. natans in summer to dominance by L. lacteus in winter, with both organisms abundant in AprilMay and OctoberNovember (Hlzinger 1978). Hynes (1971) suggests that L. lacteus may be uncompetitive in low dissolved oxygen waters, and therefore thrives in winter, when or-

Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, B2G 2W5, Canada. Department of Biology, Mt. Allison University, Sackville, NB, E4 L 1E3, Canada. * Corresponding author; e-mail: btaylor@stfx.ca DOI: 10.1127/1863-9135/2009/0175-0171 1863-9135/09/0175-0171 $ 2.50 2009 E. Schweizerbartsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, D-70176 Stuttgart