Chara and other charophyta and salamanders

[Bill B]

I was wondering whether there is any relationship between presence of newts and other salamanders and the presence of Chara or other members of the Charophyta? I have been told that mosquitos don't breed there, and that many turtles don't eat it.

 

[Azhael]

Chara and others of the same family are common in caudate habitats here in Spain, specially in the south.
They do tend to inhabit oxygen poor waters, but some caudates tolerate them very well.

 

[TristanH]

In Britain Chara are generally indicators of good water quality, and also commonly grow in temporary or early succession habitats (i.e. no fish). Chara prefers hard water.

Generally I think this is a great plant for amphibian cover. As it's negatively buoyant (i.e. sinks) it won't choke the water column, so Chara waters tend to retain the open water habitat preferred by Triturus larvae. Much better than the ubiquitous and invasive Canadian pondweed.

That said, I don't think most British amphibians are particularly fussy about breeding conditions, so long as it's not too extreme.

Tristan