Red Algae

The tidal migration, temporal and spatial patterns in feeding of the surface-swimming four-eyed fish Anableps anableps (Anablepidae) were studied in a macrotidal mangrove area in north Brazil to exemplify the ecology of a tropical intertidal fish. Visual censuses in the main channel showed that abundances were high at low water (LW) and low at high water (HW). Anableps anableps entered the intertidal creeks with the first flood rise. They fed in the inundated mangrove at HW and returned gradually after the ebb current maximum to concentrate again in the subtidal parts of the main channel at LW. This pattern occurred at neap, mid and spring tides throughout the year. The tidal migration was triggered by water level, not by time. In the study area the diet of A. anableps caught with block nets was dominated by intertidal red algae (Catanella sp.). Other important food items were Insecta and Grapsidae. The combination of high inundation and daylight (spring tide-day) provided the best foraging conditions, probably emphasizing the importance of the above-water eye. Darkness and low inundation was linked to poorest foraging conditions (neap tide-night). The quantity of food consumed by A. anableps was clearly influenced by the factors tide, time of day and creek location, but not by size and sex. The qualitative composition of the diet was not influenced by any of the factors, except for mud, which was only ingested at neap tides. The temporal and spatial variability in food consumption suggests that food web modelling in macrotidal areas may lead to misinterpretations of the overall systems dynamics if the spring and neap tide alternation and the diurnal cycle are not considered.

... Lawrence at Sorel, Quebec, in the east to Thunder Bay on Lake Superior in the west (Fig. ... were the Cyanochloronta and Bacillariophyta (Tables 2 and 3). Three blue-green algae, Lyngbya digiietii, L. cpiphytica and Cìiamaesìphan incrustam were the dom-inants, accounting for ...

Red seaweeds were investigated, using SCUBA, from waters around the island of Cozumel off the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. One hundred and eighteen species of Rhodophyta were collected and identified. Forty-five of these are reported for the first time from Cozumel, and of these 11 are new records for Mexico. There was a distinct change in the deep water flora between wet and dry seasons; the dry season had more species with northern ranges in comparison with the flora in general. The wet season had few north-ranging species. Fifty-four epiphytic or hemiparasitic species were identified, most frequently on Halimeda tuna, Dictyota cervicornis and Sargassum spp. This account brings the total mac-roalgal taxa reported from Cozumel to 385, the richest flora of any locality in the Caribbean region of Mexico.

The agarophyte red alga Gracilaria verrucosa occurs widely in Chilika Lake, one of the RAMSAR wetland sites in India. The lake is situated in the extreme southeast corner of Orissa between latitudes 19°28′ and 19°54′ N and longitudes 85°06′ and 85°35′ E. The natural biomass production is not sufficient for the agar industry, and the only alternative is to maximize the production of the seaweed through mass cultivation by seaweed farming. To elucidate important aspects of the growth and development of G. verrucosa, experimental field cultivation was undertaken at Langaleswar and Samal sites of Chilika Lake using ropes and raft methods during March to August, 2009. After 30 days of cultivation a maximum 15- and 13.8-fold increase in biomass in raft culture and rope culture, respectively, was observed at Langaleswar and an 11.6- and 11.0-fold increase in biomass at Samal. Environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, pH, transparency, DO, conductivity, nitrate, and phosphate were monitored at both stations, and the influence of environmental parameters is discussed.

The red algae (Rhodophyta) form a distinct photosynthetic eukaryotic lineage that consists of around 6,000 species including unicellular to large multicellular taxa (http://www.algaebase.org/). The red algae are unique among eukaryotes in lacking both flagella and centrioles during their entire life cycle (Gabrielson et al., 1990; Graham and Wilcox, 2000). Pit connections, pit plugs, and a triphasic life cycle that are mostly found in the Florideophyceae are also distinguishing characters of the red algae. The photosynthetic organelle (plastid) of red algae is bounded by two membranes and contains chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, and phycoerythrin as photosynthetic pigments. These pigment complexes, organized in phycobilisomes, are located on the surface of unstacked thylakoid membranes to capture light energy. As a storage product, the red algae produce granulated floridean starch in the cytoplasm that is different from green algal starch. In addition to these unique features, the monop...

New observations from Yeu Island and the Bay of Bourgneuf on the Atlantic coast of France show that Ammonia beccarii s.s. and Ammonia tepida have different morphofunctional adaptations to their habitats and environments. Adult A. beccarii s.s. may be epiphytic, living on the calcareous alga Corallina officinalis or on the red alga Gigartina acicularis along rocky shores, while A. tepida is endopelic, living in sediments of brackish environments. Rapid 3-D emission of pseudopodia from interlocular spaces on both umbilical and spiral sides of adult A. beccarii s.s. can support its test within the seaweed framework. This behaviour is characteristic of phytal species. Thus, it appears that the major difference between A. beccarii s.s. and A. tepida is the presence of large interlocular spaces on spiral side of the former, corresponding to a potential morphofunctional adaptation to the epiphytic mode of life. We believe that these observations could help to solve the long-lasting A. beccarii problems of specific distinction.

In this study, the upper infralittoral zone of Antalya (Turkish Mediterranean coasts) was researched. 375 algae and five seagrasses were determined. There are (36 taxon) blue-green algae (Cyanophyceae), (198 taxon) red algae [Rhodellophyceae (1), Compsopogonophyceae (2), Bangıophyceae (5), Florideophyceae (190)], (74 taxon) brown algae (Fucophyceae), (67 taxon) green algae [Chlorophyceae (4), Ulvophyceae (18), Cladophorophyceae (23),Bryopsidophyceae (20), Dasycladophyceae(2)] and (5 taxon) seagrasses (Liliopsida). Bonnemaisonia clavata G. Hamel (Rhodophyceae) was given as new record for the Turkish Marines. Leibleinia epiphytica (Hieronymus) Anagnostidis & Komárek, Microchaete grisea Thuret, Calothrix scopulorum (Weber van Bosse & Mohr) C. Agardh (Cyanophyceae), Gelidiocolax christinae J. Feldman et G. Feldman, Falkenbergia hildenbrandii (Bornet) Falkenberg, Hydrolithon farinosum var. chalicodictyum (W.R. Taylor) Serio, Acrodiscus vidovichii (Meneghini) Zanardini, Ceramium codii (Richards) Feldmnn Mazoyer, Chondria mairei Feldmann Mazoyer, Polysiphonia paniculata Montagne (Rhodophyceae) and Ulva curvata (Kützing) De Toni (Ulvophyceae) were given as new record for the Turkish coasts of Mediterranean.

This research was aims to know the growth of red algae Eucheuma spinosum cultured with different depth, and several environmental factors which affect algal growth. An experimental method was used in the research. Long line cultivation method was obtained for binding 60 seeds at various depths of 10 cm, 1 m, and 2 m. The measurements were carried out every week for two months. Several environmental parameters measured were temperature, salinity, current velocity, pH, Nitrate and Phosphate. The result indicated that the average growth at the end of cultivation showed that the growth at 10 cm depth weighed 671 g heavier than 1 m and 2 m depths, (423 g and 248.5 g). While the average of daily growth were 13.028 g at the depth of 10 cm, 7.612 g in depth 1 m and 4.428 g in depth 2 m. The comparison of algae growth from all three different depths showed that at 2 m depth was the lowest; this was thought to be caused by predator attacks Baronang fish (Siganus sp) and also due to lack of light penetration, whereas the measured environmental parameters are still within the normal range for algal growth.