Tag Archives: Chlorophyta

Acrosiphonia coalita: The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
chloro3 copy

The fine filamentous green algae <i>Acrosiphonia sp.</i> photo by Ryan Murphy

Classification :
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Viridiplantae
Phylum: Chlorophyta
Class: Ulvophyceae
Order: Acrosiphoniales
Genus: Acrosiphonia
Species: coalita

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Dec 2005–Ryan Murphy

 

Enteromorpha intestinalis:

Posted on by
pprasiolameridionalis

Moist Enteromorpha . intestinalis on the Race Rocks slipway-photo by Ryan Murphy

 Description: This plant is green in colour, elongate, usually unbranched and tubular, sometimes occurring singly but usually in tufts or dense stands.

Habitat: On rocks and epiphytic on other algae in the upper intertidal zone; often in somewhat brackish water.

Pacific Coast Distribution: Alaska to Mexico.

Robert Scagel, 1972

Phylum: Chlorophyta
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Ulvales
Family: Ulvaceae
Enteromorpha intestinalis (L.) Link

greenalg

Dried E. intestinalis on the Race Rocks slipway photo by Ryan Murphy

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Dec 2005- Ryan Murphy

 

Cladophora flexuosa:: Race Rocks Taxonomy.

Posted on by
cladomorpha-1

Cladophora flexuosa  in the intertidal zone — photo by Ryan Murphy

Description: The plant is light green in colour, filamentous, erect, 5-20 cm. high, and profusely branched. The filamentous branches are uniseriate, with elongate cells, 4-6 times as long as broad. The branches taper at the ends to a subacute apex; the branching habit is alternate, with the ultimate branchlets being only a few cells in length. The plant is attached to the substrate by means of a short, basal, simple or branched rhizoidal filaments.
Habitat: In rock pools in the lower intertidal zone.
Pacific Coast Distribution: Alaska to California
Robert Scagel, 1972

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Ulvophyceae
Order: Cladophorales
Family: Cladophoraceae
Genus: Cladophora
Species: flexuosa (Kütz., 1843)

unk2

Cladophora flexuosa amongst the Californianus sp mussels

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Dec 2001–Ryan Murphy

 

Codium setchellii: Green felt algae–The Race Rocks raxonomy

Posted on by

codiumsetchelliiHabitats of Codium setchellii:
This species of Green algae lives directly out from the docks at 3 -8 metres depth. Without a light it often appears almost black as wavelength deteriorates at that depth.

codiumixIt looks and feels like a lump of green felt. Here you can see it growing in association with brooding anemone.
Classification :
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protoctista
Division: Chlorophyta (Green Algae)
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Codiales
Family: Codiaceae
Genus: Codium
Species: setchellii N.L. Gardner
COMMON NAME:Green felt algae

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Nov 2005–G.Fletcher

 

Pyramimonas sp. The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
pyrampool

On the east side of the island is the largest pool with Pyramimonas.

Pyramimonas is a green micro-algae, that is a type of phytoplankton.

Phytoplankton refers to the autotrophic component of the plankton that drifts in the water column.

pyram2

Samples taken from the green water in the upper tidepools

greenalgae

Here it is photographed at 400X under the microscope.

Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye. However, when present in high numbers, their presence may appear as discoloration of the water (the color of which may vary with the phytoplankton present). This is certainly the case in the high intertidal tide pools at Race Rocks

In the high intertidal areas of Race Rocks, there are tidepools with wide fluctuations of abiotic factors. The organisms inhabiting these pools are well adapted to these extremes. Garry talks to a biology class about some of the variables influencing these high tide pools, and the flagellated green algae living within them.

The intense green color of the pools, swirly coloration of the water and a frothy covering early in the day indicate high photosynthetic capability. These plankton have an interesting response to changing salinity referred to in the video above.

Phytoplankton, like other plants, obtain energy through photosynthesis, and so must live in the well-lit surface layer (termed the euphotic zone) of an ocean, sea, or lake. Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton (and terrestrial plants) are responsible for much of the oxygen present in the Earth’s atmosphere.

pyramdiagPhytoplankton is consumed by microscopic animals called zooplankton (these are the second level in the food chain).
Zooplankton is consumed by Crustaceans (the third level in the food chain).
Fish that eat crustaceans could constitute the fourth trophic level, while seals consuming the fishes are the fifth.
A major reference work on this species may be found at :http://megasun.bch.umontreal.ca/protists/pyram/appearance.html

Domain:  Eukarya
Kingdom:  Protoctista
Division:  Chlorophyta
Class:  Prasinophyceae
Order:  Pyramimonadales
Family:  Pyramimomonadacea

Genus Pyramidomonas or Pyramimonas
Species unspecified

Photos below by Garry FLetcher of Laura Verhegge’s class.
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Oct.2005Astrid Raquel Argueta PC yr 31

 

Species List for the West Side of the Race Rocks Jetty , 2005

Posted on by

This list was compiled by Pam Thuringer of Archipelago Marine on May12, 2005. She examined the west side of the docks exposed at a 0.35m tide as part of the Environmental Impact assessment for the Tidal Current Project.

Invertebrates Balanus glandula many
Semibalanus cariosus many
Hemigrapsus nudis few
Mytilus californianus few
Sponge ( orange encrusting species) few
Katharina tunicata few
Littorina scutulata many
Tectura persona few
Lottia pelta few
Anthopleura elegantissima few
Lirubuccinum dirum few
General Group Species Occurence
Brn. Algae Nereocystis luetkeana sparse
Fucus sp. sparse
Leathesia difformis sparse
Hedophyllum sessile abundant
Alaria marginata abundant
Costaria costata few
Red Algae Mazzaella splendans few
Mastocarpus pappilatus sparse
Halosaccion glandiforme few
Lithothamnion sp. few
Odonthalia floccosa sparse
Polysiphonia sp. sparse
Coralline algae. several species sparse
Porphyra perforata sparse
Endocladia muricata sparse
Green Algae Ulva sp. sparse
Acrosiphonia sp. few

Prasiola meridionalis: short sea lettuce–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
A good example of the highest marine algae in the intertidal zone, Praseola, sp. and the vertical zonation of the upper intertidal.

A good example of the highest marine algae in the intertidal zone, <i>Praseola, sp.</i> and the vertical zonation of the upper intertidal (photo near peg5A) . Photo G. Fletcher

Prasiola  meridionalis, short sea lettuce.

 There are five Prasiola species found in the world. They consist of very small blades (at most a few centimetres in length) usually one cell thick. At Race Rocks it is found as a green fuzz in the spray zone, above the upper  intertidal zone.It is also found along thePacific coast  from Alaska to Chile.

  • prasiolaInteresting local ecology: Tufts of these blades resemble little cabbages growing on wood or rock above the high level or along freshwater streams. Prasiola  can tolerate and exploit high-nitrogen conditions that most plants would find toxic. Therefore a unique aspect of their distribution is their association with guano of marine birds.

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protoctista
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Prasiolales
Family: Prasiolaceae
Genus: Prasiola
Species: meridionalis
Common Name: short sea lettuce

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.OCT  2003–Gladys Michelle Reyes–PC  Year 30

 

Ulva lactuca-sea lettuce

Posted on by

Kingdom Protista
Phylum Chlorophyta
Order Chlorophyceae
Family Ulvaceae
Class Ulvales
Genus Ulva
Species lactuca

Description: At Race Rocks, Ulva lactuca occurs in some areas at the .2 m level in the intertiidal zone. This plant is light to dark green, erect, lanceolate to broadly ovate, often ruffled along the margins, 18-60 cm. high; at times irregularly split into broad lobes, tapering abruptly near the base to a short stipitate region and a small discoid holdfast of rhizoidal cells.

Habitat:  On rocks and epiphytic on other algae in the upper intertidal zone; often floating on mud flats in the lower intertidal zone in quiet bays and lagoons.

Pacific Coast Distribution:  Bering Sea to Chile.

Adapted from:Robert Scagel, 1978

Photos by Ryan Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Codium fragile : Green sea fingers–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
cfragile2

Codium fragile and several red algae species  in the background–  photo Ryan Murphy

Habitats of Codium fragile:

rrcodiu

Codium fragile hanging from the rock on the south side of the south penninsula. –2002 photo G.Fletcher

Codium fragile is native to the Pacific Ocean. The species inhabits the middle and lower intertidal zone as well as subtidal regions of rocky shores.t is also found in large tide pools permanently filled with water. Therefore it is found at Race Rocks. At Race Rocks in 2001, the species occurred in only two small areas, although it was found when diving in earlier years in larger beds, shallow subtidally on the south side of Bentinck Island just across Race Passage north from Race Rocks. On the north side of the Great Race, there was one plant in a tide pool, and on the South East side, several dozen plants have occurred since the early 1980’s along the zero tide level of the small peninsula island. In 2004 it has been observed in several tidepools however its population still remains limited.

Structure of Codium fragile:

cfragile4

Codium fragile on underside of rock– photo by Ryan Murphy

Codium fragile is a dark green alga, ranging from ten to 40 cm high and consists of repeatedly branching cylindrical segments about 0.5 to 1.0 cm in diameter, and the branches can be as thick as pencil. The segments look like dark green fingers. Its holdfast is a broad, sponge like cushion of tissue. The tips of segments are blunt and the surface is soft, so it is sometimes mistaken as a sponge. Its body consists of interwoven, filamentous cells with incomplete crosswalls forming the inner part of the branches.

Invasive species note: There is another subspecies, Tomentosoides (van Goor) Silva, which is harmful in shellfish beds in the Atlantic. It grows to a much longer length.

Links and References:

1. Common Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast, J. Robert Waaland, Pacific Search Press.

2. Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast, Eugene N. Kozloff, 1973/1983 University of Washington Press.

Classification:
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protoctista
Phylum: Chlorophyta (Green Algae)
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Codiales
Family: Codiaceae
Genus: Codium
Species: fragile (Suringar) Heriot
COMMON NAME: Green sea fingers

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.
Dec 2001–Philip Kam PC-yr.27