An official website of the United States government
A second species in the siphonous green algal genus Avrainvillea was recently discovered off the island of O‘ahu in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Specimens were collected from Honolulu Harbor, including its entrance channel, and near Ke‘ehi Harbor. These locations are both in Mālama Bay on O‘ahu’s south shore in or adjacent to urbanized estuaries, respectively. In situ observations, morphological and molecular assessments were conducted to examine the alga’s habit and distribution, as well as to assess its putative species identification. The alga occurred in sand as single individuals or in clusters of several individuals at both sites, and near or within seagrass beds ( Halophiladecipiens ) and algal meadows composed of the green alga Halimedakanaloana and an unidentified Udotea species at the Ke‘ehi Harbor site. All analyses supported both populations as representative of the same taxa, reported until further investigation in the broad Pacific as Avrainvilleacf.erecta based on morphological and molecular analyses. This record of a second Avrainvillea species in Hawai'i is of particular concern considering that an alga recognized as A.amadelpha , first observed in 1981 from two locales on O‘ahu’s south shore, has become invasive in Hawai‘i’s intertidal to mesophotic environments.
more »
« less
Marine Benthic Algae from Ni‘ihau and Adjacent Lehua Islet, Main Hawaiian Islands
The published records of marine benthic algal species from the privately-owned island of Ni‘ihau (Hawaiian Islands) are represented by four species cited in abbott (1999) and abbott & Huisman (2004). The species consist of the red alga Chondrophycus dotyi (y. Saito) k.w. Nam [= Laurencia dotyi y. Saito], two brown algae Dictyopteris plagio - gramma (Montagne) Vickers and Distromium flabellatum womersley, and the green alga Pseudochlorodesmis parva w. J. gilbert [= Siphonogramen parvum (w.J. gilbert) I.a. abbott & Huisman]. Distromium flabellatum and Pseudochlorodesmis parva were collected in waters between Ni‘ihau and Lehua Islet. The paucity of algal records from Ni‘ihau is not surprising, very few collections have been made along its coastline because of its remoteness and general lack of access.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1754117
- PAR ID:
- 10226451
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Bishop Museum occasional papers
- Volume:
- 129
- ISSN:
- 2376-3191
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 93-107
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract The benthic marine algae of the mainland coast of Ecuador are poorly known mainly due to a lack of collections. Currently, DNA barcoding is the preferred method to identify species of benthic marine algae worldwide, as morpho-anatomical characters are inadequate to distinguish many species of macroalgae. We used the red algal barcode rbc L-3P to identify specimens collected in January 2020 from Manabí, Ecuador as Neoizziella asiatica . This is the first member of the red algal order Nemaliales to be reported from the mainland coast of Ecuador and extends the distribution of this alga by 1,100 km to the south from Panama.more » « less
-
Abstract The relative rates of sexual versus asexual reproduction influence the partitioning of genetic diversity within and among populations. During range expansions, asexual reproduction often facilitates colonization and establishment. The arrival of the green algaAvrainvillea laceratahas caused shifts in habitat structure and community assemblages since its discovery in 1981 offshore of Oʻahu, Hawai‘i. Field observations suggest this species is spreading via vegetative reproduction. To characterize the reproductive system ofA. laceratain Hawai‘i, we developed seven microsatellite loci and genotyped 321 blades collected between 2018 and 2023 from three intertidal sites at Maunalua Bay and ʻEwa Beach. We observed one to four alleles at multiple loci, suggestingA. laceratais tetraploid. Each site was characterized by high genotypic richness (R > 0.8). However, clonal rates were also high, suggesting the vegetative spread ofA. lacerataplays a significant role. The importance of clonal reproduction for the persistence ofA. laceratain Hawai‘i is consistent with the ecological data collected for this species and observations of other abundant macroalgal invaders in Hawai‘i and other regions of the world. These data demonstrate the necessity for implementing appropriate population genetic methods and provide insights into the biology of this alga that will contribute to future studies on effective management strategies incorporating its reproductive system. This study represents one of the few that investigate green algal population genetic patterns and contributes to our understanding of algal reproductive system evolution.more » « less
-
An algal strain from an acidic pool near the shore of Lake Mácha, Czech Republic, was identified as Tetraëdriella subglobosa Pascher by light microscopy. Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear 18S rDNA and plastid rbcL sequence data indicated that this alga is a member of the Eustigmatophyceae, rather than the Xanthophyceae as presently classified. This is the first report of T. subglobosa since Pascher’s description of the species in 1930.more » « less
-
The recently described crustose calcifying red algal species Ramicrusta hawaiiensis, known only from mesophotic depths off Lehua Island, west of Kaua’i Island, was found in shallow benthic reef habitats (3-18 m deep) along the western coast of Hawai’i Island. Molecular and microscopy techniques were used for genetic confirmation and for detailed morphological and anatomical examination. Two independent benthic cover survey datasets collected from west Hawai’i Island were used to investigate temporal and geographic distribution of Ramicrusta . In both datasets, we report Ramicrusta at approximately 60% of the sites surveyed. Benthic cover for this alga varies among sites and among years and its presence in west Hawai’i is evident since at least 2003. These findings help to document Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem change and benthic community composition reshuffling. This study also emphasizes the critical importance of taxonomy and proper identification of macroalgal species to understand the potential for phase-shifts of dominant taxa in coral reef ecosystems after environmental disturbances and fluctuations in abiotic factors. In the last decade, members of the red algal order Peyssonneliales have increased in abundance and overgrown other benthic species in reef ecosystems in the Caribbean and tropical Pacific. The novel aspect of finding abundant Ramicrusta in much shallower water than originally described, the decadal presence of Ramicrusta , and its potential for competition with other benthic organisms make this research valuable to coral reef ecology and justify further investigation of Ramicrusta ecology and biology in the Hawaiian Islands and globally.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- The DOI is not currently available.
