COMPSOPOGON CF COERULEUS, A BENTHIC RED ALGA (RHODOPHYTA) NEW TO THE LAURENTIAN GREAT-LAKES

We found Compsopogon cf. coeruleus for the first time in the Laurentian Great Lakes, growing on limestone rocks at a depth of 21 m on Six Fathom Bank in central Lake Huron. It is the first freshwater red alga to be found in the Great Lakes and the only red alga ever found on an offshore reef in the Great Lakes. However, because this alga usually inhabits water 10-28-degrees-C and has not survived freezing winter temperatures elsewhere, it may not be a permanent member of the flora.