as suggested by Tabb (1963), and at 

 least partially confirmed by Koli- 

 pinski and Higer (1969). The latter 

 authors report invasion of enclosed 

 sampling devices by numerous adult 

 members of the freshwater fauna 

 which apparently gained access to 

 the newly flooded marsh from under- 

 ground channels. 



A second element of the ecolo- 

 gical significance of the periphyton 

 has to do with its suspected role in 

 the downstream detrital pool and 

 food chain. As the marshes dry up, 

 the organic cell material within the 

 calcareous shells of the algae tends 

 to die back, leaving the slow-drying 

 lime mud cakes behind. As water 

 levels once again rise, the dead 

 cellular organic matter tends to 

 lyse and wash out into the dissolved 

 detrial pool. The same rising water 

 levels also effect wash out of 

 macroscopic vegetation. However, 

 the latter tends to be in large 

 pieces at first and thus of rela- 

 tively little direct value to the 

 detrital food chain. The simulta- 

 neous wash out of relatively small 

 sized (dissolved) detritus with 

 marsh/prairie vegetation may enrich 

 the detrital medium and hasten its 

 usefulness to microbes and grazers 

 alike (Wood and Maynard 1974). 



Wood and Maynard (1974), and 

 more recently Browder et al. (1980), 

 have reported on the seasonal dyna- 

 mics of the periphyton community. As 

 the dry season initially ends, the 

 blue-green algae, often Scytonema 

 sp., are first to recolonize and 

 dominate the mat communty. A longer 

 period of inundation is required 

 before green algae and diatoms begin 

 to show up in the mat. Feeding and 

 growth experiments indicate that the 

 blue-greens are of little value to 

 the grazing food chain while diatom 

 dominated mats are of relatively 

 more use to grazers, such as frogs 

 and tadpoles. 



Hunt (1961) also speculates 

 that the algal mat is of relatively 

 little direct use to grazers. How- 

 ever, Kolipinski and Higer (1969) 

 report numerous filamentous blue- 

 greens, desmids, and diatoms from 

 stomach contents of sailfin mollies 



( Poecilia latipinana ) , flagfish 



( Jordanella floridae ), and sheeps- 

 head minnows ( Cyprinodon varieqat - 

 us) . Vascular plants are quantitati- 

 vely less important in their diets. 



Like the blue-green algal mat, 

 peat soils perform an important 

 ecological function as well as a 

 geological one. As peat accumu- 

 lates, it influences the succession 

 of communities by slowly building 

 land elevation and changing the 

 structure of the habitat in favor of 

 more mesic vegetation communities. 

 The resistance of peat soils to 

 dessication also provides a useful 

 antidrought, protective device for 

 many fish, invertebrates, eggs, and 

 larvae (Tabb 1963). Even some adult 

 vertebrates such as the bowfin ( Amia 

 calva ) are reported to burrow into 

 the marsh soils, apparently seeking 

 seasonal protection from desiccation 

 (Dineen 1974). 



During the dry season the sur- 

 face layers of the peat soils tend 

 to dry out and become especially 

 susceptible to fires. Fortunately 

 most of the lightning-caused natural 

 fires are associated with convective 

 storms of the wet season. Nonethe- 

 less, when fires do occur during the 

 dry season, or during dry wet sea- 

 sons, they may mineralize some of 

 the very flammable peat soils, re- 

 leasing organically bound nutrients 

 over wide areas. Generally the most 

 fire susceptible peat soils are 

 those dominated by graminoids which 

 are subject to an annual build-up of 

 dry plant material. Hardwood ham- 

 mocks, bayheads, cypress domes and 

 strands, and some thickets are gen- 

 erally more resistant to destruction 



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