F. Pitois et al., Colonization dynamics of an encrusting cyanobacterial mat in a hardwater river (Eaulne, France), GEOMICROB J, 18(2), 2001, pp. 139-155
Many hardwater rivers of the Seine basin (France) have gradually become aff
ected by extensive stromatolite (sensu Monty 1973) growth during the last 3
0 years. In some cases, calcareous buildup development is fast enough to ce
ment large sectors of the stream bed. Although static aspects (mineralogy,
morphology, microflora) are well known, few attempts have been made so far
to understand the dynamics and regulating factors of buildup development.
The formation of an encrusting algal mat was studied from 1996 to 1998 in a
hardwater river of Seine-Maritime (France). The structural organization of
all stromatolitic buildups was highly homogeneous in all sites. Encrusted
microflora settled only on stable, solid substrates and were largely domina
ted by the cyanobacterial genus Phormidium. Annual dynamics of calcitic str
ucture development closely followed the cyanobacterial microflora growth ph
ases.
The main determining factor of encrusting microflora extension appeared to
be river-bed stability. Current velocity seems to play a fundamental part o
n at least two scales. On the "site scale" (100 m(2)), the discharge variat
ions determine the spatial distribution of the fine-grained, unstable depos
its that cannot host encrusting microflora. On the "substrate scale" (0.1 t
o 1 m(2)), the maximum cyanobacterial biomass increases with current veloci
ty. The maximal extension rate measured in the present study showed that a
stable, cobble riverfloor could be cemented by cyanobacterially driven calc
areous deposits in 6 to 7 months.