Description:
<p>Algae associated with leafy liverworts growing on decorticated red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) logs were investigated at study sites in the mountains of West Virginia and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Twelve taxa (nine cyanobacteria, two green algae and one diatom) were identified, but the microhabitat represented by the samples we examined was dominated by just three taxa, two cyanobacteria (Chroococcus tenax and Aphanothece saxicola) along with the green alga Chlorococcum humicola. The relative abundance and consistent presence of these organisms in this microhabitat suggest that they could represent a possible food source for certain species of myxomycetes with which they co-occur.</p>