DISTRIBUTION OF COLORED SNOW AND ASSOCIATED ALGAL GENERA IN NEW-ZEALAND

Mainly during the period 1991 to 1995, the distribution of coloured sn ow throughout New Zealand was determined from questionnaires returned by mountain travellers. Forty-five positive sightings were obtained, f our from Tongariro National Park in the North Island and the remainder from the Southern Alps. Snow was commonly pink to red but sometimes o range or yellow. During the late spring and summer months, but never i n winter, colour occurred mostly as patches in old, waterlogged snow b ut occasionally was continuously distributed throughout a snowfield. T he colour was generally on the snow surface but could extend to 15 cm depth. Fifteen samples of coloured snow meltwater were examined micros copically. All algae were members of the Chlorophyta, the most frequen tly observed being Chlamydomonas. In some samples, sparse numbers of C ryocystis, Scotiella, Troschiscia, Koliella, and Raphidonema were obse rved. The algal assemblages are similar to those found outside New Zea land. This survey will serve as a basis for further investigations of these interesting algae in New Zealand.