ECOLOGY OF THE PLANKTON ALGAE IN THE PALI- 

 SADES INTERSTATE PARK, INCLUDING THE 

 RELATION OF CONTROL METHODS 

 TO FISH CULTURE* 



By Dr. Gilbert Morgan Smith 



Collaborator, Roosevelt Field Naturalist, Roosevelt Wild Life 

 Forest Experiment Station, Syracuse, N,ew York. 



CONTENTS 



1. The Palisades Park and Its Lakes. 



Description of the Lakes. 



2. Water Blooms and the Factors Governing their Formation. 



The Nature of Algal Blooms. 

 Injurious Effects of Blooms. 

 Rate of Growth of Algae. 

 The Algae That Cause Blooms. 



Physical and Chemical Factors Affecting the Growth of 

 Blooms. 



3. Ecological Relations of the Ph}^oplankton of the Park. 



The Nature of the Plankton Flora. 



Relation of the Plankton Formations to Geological Conditions. 



Seasonal Succession of the Plankton Algae. 



Algal Succession in Artificial Lakes. 



Origin of the Plankton Flora in a New Lake. 



4. Methods of Controlling Algal Growths. 



Proper Construction of Artificial Lakes. 

 Removal of Algae by Means of Chemicals. 

 The Method of Applying Copper Sulphate. 



5. Effect of the Copper Sulphate Treatment on Fish. 



6. Systematic Account of the Phytoplankton of Palisades Park. 



7. References to Literature. 



* This investigation of the water blooms, caused by the growth of algae 

 in fresh water, is an excellent illustration of the results of the intensive 

 use of forest regions for recreation. These Park waters are used by thousands 

 of Park visitors. In the efforts of the Park officials to control the bloom 

 by the use of the copper sulphate method it was at once seen that this method 

 infringed upon the methods of fish culture which are being developed. It will 

 rrobablv be a long t'me before manv of the remote forests, both State and 

 National, will meet with urgent practical problems of this character, which re- 

 sult from close proximity to the large cities. Furthermore, this experience with 

 b!oom and fish culture shows that such problems must be investigated by 

 technical men before they can be solved administratively. The present 

 investigation was made at the request of the Commissioners of the Palisades 

 Interstate Park, and with their cooperation. It is a pleasure to acknowledge 

 t'^e cordial assistance received from the late Mr. George W. Perkins, Presi- 

 dent of the Commissioners, and from Mr. Edward F. Brown, at that time 

 Superintendent of the Camp Department of the Park. Assistance was also 

 p'ratefully received from Mr. W. A. Welch, then Chief Engineer, and now 

 General Manager of the Park. — The Director. 



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