dcsimg

Comprehensive Description

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Desmarestia viridis (O. F. Muller) Lamouroux

Desmarestia viridis (O. F. Muller) Lamouroux, 1813:45.

As with other species of Desmarestia, Chapman (1972b) has circumscribed D. viridis, a common Atlantic species, to include specimens from a wider geographic range and exhibiting a greater morphological variation than is usually described.

Desmarestia filamentosa Dawson (1944), known only from the type-locality (Puerto Refugio) in the northern Gulf of California, was included by Chapman within the synonymy of D. viridis. The Gulf specimens are generally taller, wider in diameter and more lax than those known from the Monterey Peninsula, California (Smith, 1969) which is probably the center of distribution for this species on the Pacific coast. A specimen collected at the southeast side of Isla San Esteban (lat. 28°40′15″, long. 112°30′30″), 3–7.6 m depth, 25 Apr 1974, JN-5708 (UC), (leg. JN), represents the southernmost extension of the known range in the Gulf.

Additional specimens enlarge the plant’s Gulf distribution: Isla Mejía, 6.1 m depth, 23 Apr 1974, JN-5839 (AHFH) and JN-5679 (US), (leg. JN); Puerto Refugio, off west side of Roca Blanca, 20 m depth, 21 Apr 1974, JN-5271 (GMS, ARIZ), (leg. JN); Puerto Refugio, off small island, 10 m depth, 21 Apr 1974, JN-5360 (MEXU), (leg. JN); Punta la Gringa, Bahía de Los Angeles, 7.6 m depth, 28 Apr 1974, JN-5448 (US), (leg. JN) and 6.5 m depth, 22 May 1972, JN-3042 (US), (leg. JN and G. Boehlert).
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bibliographic citation
Norris, James N. and Bucher, Katina E. 1976. "New Records of Marine Algae from the 1974 R/V Dolphin Cruise to the Gulf of California." Smithsonian Contributions to Botany. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.34

Desmarestia viridis

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Overview

Desmarestia viridis is a species of brown algae and a member of the phylum Ochrophyta.[1] It is also known as stringy acid kelp, and is the most acidic of the acid kelps with a vacuolar pH of about 1.[2] It is best known for releasing sulfuric acid when damaged, usually destroying itself and other nearby marine plant life.[3] D. viridis is typically found in colder, shallow, intertidal zones all around the world.[4]

Physical Description

This algal species can grow up to 48 inches tall. It is made up of a disk-like holdfast to attach itself to the substrate, protecting the plant from getting swept away due to wave energy. It has a cylindrical center and its fronds have a signature pattern of opposite branching which can resemble the branches of a bush.[3][4] It is the color brown, rather than green like many other types of algae, due to the pigment fucoxanthin dominating and masking the other pigments.[5]

Reproduction

D. viridis, like all brown algae, can do both asexual and sexual reproduction. Brown algae reproduces by means of gametes and flagellated spores and the life cycle consists of two stages. At first, the algae exist as the flagellated spores. These are released from the parent, get fertilized, and then settle on the substrate. This begins the second stage of life. The algae grows into a mature plant and then releases spores, continuing the cycle.[6][7]

Habitat and Distribution

Desmarestia viridis has been found in nearly every ocean across the globe, with the only exception being the Indian Ocean.[8] However, D. viridis is very common around Ireland, Great Britain, and the Isle of Man, and like most brown algae species, tends to prefer cooler climates. [9][10][11] Its preferred habitat is on hard rock substrates in the subtidal to intertidal zones and can sustain life in both protected and exposed habitats.[4] It survives best in the intertidal because the shallow depth allows the plant the access to sunlight to perform photosynthesis.

Ecological Role

D. viridis is a primary producer, and like all other algae species, produces its own food via photosynthesis. Brown algae does contain chlorophyll, however the majority of their photosynthetic production is from the pigment fucoxanthin. Fucoxanthin reflects yellow light, and absorbs the sunlight and then transfers this energy along to the chlorophyll to process. [12]

An interesting correlation researchers have looked into is the relationship between Desmarestia viridis and the Green Sea Urchin species Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. One study conducted in Norway looked specifically at the effect of D. viridis on S. droebachiensis distribution and grazing patterns in the field, as well as a lab experiment to determine the effect of the sulphuric acid released from D. viridis on the sea urchin movement.[13] They found that S. droebachiensis densities were one-to-two hundred times lower in areas with high concentrations of kelp than in those with low concentrations. Additionally, they found that the kelp (Alaria esculenta) that is eaten by S. droebachiensis was consumed less when also in the presence of D. viridis.[13] This implies that the presence of D. viridis has a negative effect on the S. droebachiensis. In the lab experiment, they found that exposing S. droebachiensis to 500 μl water with a pH of 7.5 made them stop moving, while adding just 25 μl of water at pH of 1 (which is the pH of the sulfuric acid that D. viridis releases) made the urchins move in the opposite direction.[13]

Photos

References

  1. ^ "Phylum Ochrophyta | SEANET". seanet.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  2. ^ "Marine Botany at FHL". depts.washington.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  3. ^ a b "Stringy acid kelp • Desmarestia viridis". Biodiversity of the Central Coast. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  4. ^ a b c "Seaweeds of Alaska". www.seaweedsofalaska.com. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  5. ^ "Seaweed.ie :: Information on marine algae". www.seaweed.ie. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  6. ^ "The Life Cycle of Brown Algae – The Giant Kelp". sites.gsu.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  7. ^ "Life cycle Laminaria and Fucus (Brown Algae)". www.vcbio.science.ru.nl. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  8. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Desmarestia viridis (O.F.Müller) J.V.Lamouroux, 1813". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  9. ^ Fletcher, R.L.1987. Seaweeds of the British Isles. Volume 3 Fucophyceae (Phaeophyceae). Part 1. British Museum (Natural History) ISBN 0-565-00992-3
  10. ^ Hardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2003. A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. The British Phycological Society ISBN 0-9527115-16
  11. ^ "Seaweed.ie :: Information on marine algae". www.seaweed.ie. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  12. ^ "How Does Seaweed Conduct Photosynthesis?". Sciencing. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  13. ^ a b c Molis, Markus; Wessels, Hendrik; Hagen, Wilhelm; Karsten, Ulf; Wiencke, Christian (2009-01-01). "Do sulphuric acid and the brown alga Desmarestia viridis support community structure in Arctic kelp patches by altering grazing impact, distribution patterns, and behaviour of sea urchins?". Polar Biology. 32 (1): 71–82. doi:10.1007/s00300-008-0504-2. ISSN 1432-2056.
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