Charophytes of Insular Newfoundland II: Chara evoluta and Chara canescens
Keywords:charophytes, Characeae, Chara evoluta, Chara canescens, Chara aspera, coastal lagoons, Newfoundland
AbstractThe rare Newfoundland disjuncts Chara evoluta and Chara canescens are compared morphologically, ecologically, and geographically. Although very similar morphologically, they can readily be distinguished by their monoecious/dioecious nature, cortical cell features and coronula size. Ecological differences are more subtle and difficult to quantify. In Newfoundland the two species are restricted to coastal saline lagoons in the southwest region of the Island, with C. evoluta exhibiting an association with Chara aspera. The flora and fauna of these unique habitats are poorly documented even though it is known that they are associated with other rare species including the Piping Plover and the Banded Killifish. Consideration of some degree of protection as special habitats within the provincial ecological reserve strategy is suggested. An updated key to all species of charophytes known to inhabit Newfoundland and Labrador is included, and a brief overview of their ecological distributions is provided.
Copyright for Canadian Field-Naturalist content is held by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, except for content published by employees of federal government departments, in which case the copyright is held by the Crown. In-copyright content available at the Biodiversity Heritage Library is available for re-use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. For usage of content at the BHL for purposes other than those allowed under this licence, contact us.
To request use of copyright material, please contact our editor, Dr. Dwayne Lepitzki: editor -at- canadianfieldnaturalist -dot- ca