Unseen microalgal diversity – phytotelmata in neoregelia spp. L.B. Smith (bromeliaceae) from florists wholesalers in Laguna, Philippines

Abstract

The aquatic microcosms in plant axils of bromeliads are unique and favorable habitat for diverse kinds of new and rare species of microalgae. This study presents the first taxonomic survey in the Philippines to focus on the algal community existing in phytotelmata of Neoregelia spp. L.B. Smith (Bromeliaceae) from florist wholesalers in Laguna. A total of 20 microalgal taxa were described and taxonomically identified – of which six species belong to Cyanophyceae, five species both for Bacillariophyceae and Chlorophyceae, two species for Trebouxiophyceae, and one species each for Euglenophyceae and Zygnematophyceae. The study reports an additional of eleven species (Chlorella vulgaris, Dictyochloropsis splendida, Stigeoclonium tenue, Chlorococcum infusionum, Pinnularia rumrichiae, Cymbella affinis, Chroococcus schizodermaticus, Pseudanabaena minima, Oscillatoria limosa, Oscillatoria tenuis, and Euglena agilis) as new records in the global inventory list of phytotelm microalgae and 14 new taxa as additional records of microalgae in phytotelm microhabitat of Asia. Also, the occurrence of a microalga, Dictyochloropsis splendida Geitler, is described for the first time in the Philippines. Keys and diagnostic descriptions as well as photomicrographs are presented to differentiate the species of phytotelm microalgae. The survey provided important taxonomic records and information on the species composition of phytotelm microalgae of bromeliad tanks found in the Philippines.