Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
Pigment-based chemotaxonomy uses relative amounts of photosynthetic pigments (biomarkers) within algae samples to determine the algal class composition of each sample. Chemotaxonomy has been applied successfully to phytoplankton communities, but its efficacy for periphyton has not yet been established. This study examined the ability of simultaneous linear equations (SLE), CHEMTAX, and the Bayesian Compositional Estimator (BCE) to determine algal class composition in Florida Everglades periphyton. The methods were applied to artificial datasets, mixed lab cultures of known composition, and Everglades periphyton samples for which microscopic biovolume data was available. All methods were able to return accurate sample compositions for artificial data and mixed lab cultures. Correlation between pigment methods and microscopic results for natural periphyton samples was poor. SLE and CHEMTAX returned similar results for all samples while BCE performed less well.
Extent
ix, 103 p. : ill. (some col.)
Recommended Citation
Browne, Jamie L., "Comparison of chemotaxonomic methods for the determination of periphyton community composition" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 35.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/35
Identifier
FADT2100582
Comments
by Jamie L. Browne.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010.|Includes bibliography.|Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.|by Jamie L. Browne.