Phytoplankton of a recently landlocked brackish-water lagoon of Lake Tanganyika: a systematic account

The planktonic flora of a recently landlocked brackish-water lagoon of Lake Tanganyika was studied. 273 Taxa were observed including 5 new ones: Trachelomonas dubia Swir. emend. Defl. var. colliundulata Caljon, Tr. gatumbana Caljon, Tr. komarovii Skv. var. bicollaris Caljon, Chroomonas angusta Caljon, Scourfieldia chlorolateralis Caljon. Diatoms were qualitatively the most important group (37.7%) followed by the Chlorophyta (23.0%), the Euglenophyta (19.4%) and the Cyanophyta (13.6%). This algal composition compares well with that of other African water-bodies of similar ionic composition and salinity but shows a more important development of Euglenophyta taxa.Many typical brackish-water and marine algal taxa were observed.The algal flora was mainly composed of cosmopolitan and subcosmopolitan taxa (89%) and a small number of tropical and subtropical taxa (11%).