Neogoniolithon Brassica-florida Research Articles

Recruitment of the endangered limpet Patella ferruginea in the Chafarinas Islands (SW Mediterranean)

AbstractThe recruitment of the endangered limpet Patella ferruginea in the Chafarinas Islands (SW Mediterranean) was studied over a 17-year period (1999‒2015). A total of 8115 recruits <20 mm in maximum diameter were counted in 95 transect censuses sampled during the study period. The presence of recruits began at the end of winter or beginning of spring (March‒April), when they reached a maximum shell diameter (MD) of at least 4 mm, with a peak in abundance occurring in spring. Smaller recruits were found on the lower midlittoral on the fringe of the vermetid gastropod Dendropoma lebeche and the crustose coralline algae Neogoniolithon brassica-florida, which suggests that settlement occurs at this shore level. Recruits reach 12‒27 mm at the end of their first year of life. A regular recruitment was detected for all studied years, with an average of 11.71 recruits m−1 across the study period. However, recruitment exhibited high interannual variability and did not occur evenly along the coastline of the islands. Higher recruitment was observed in 2001, 2011 and 2012, with a maximum density of 69.07 recruits m−1 in one transect in 2012. The density of recruits decreased in summer. No significant correlation was found between the density of recruits and adults. Between 1999‒2010, 29.29% of recruits were ‘phoretic’ on the shell of adults (1.81 recruits per host on average). Recruits climbed on to adults sometime after settlement, thus we suggest that ‘phoresy’ could favour the survival of young limpets instead of being due to selective settlement on adults. To improve and standardize recruitment monitoring in future studies, we propose that recruits are considered as those specimens <20 mm in MD and that recruitment censuses are carried out in spring, with additional censuses after summer to detect juvenile mortality. Additionally, we propose that 1 mm interval size classes are used for growth studies based on size‒frequency analyses.

Climate change and species facilitation affect the recruitment of macroalgal marine forests

Marine forests are shrinking globally due to several anthropogenic impacts including climate change. Forest-forming macroalgae, such as Cystoseiras.l. species, can be particularly sensitive to environmental conditions (e.g. temperature increase, pollution or sedimentation), especially during early life stages. However, not much is known about their response to the interactive effects of ocean warming (OW) and acidification (OA). These drivers can also affect the performance and survival of crustose coralline algae, which are associated understory species likely playing a role in the recruitment of later successional species such as forest-forming macroalgae. We tested the interactive effects of elevated temperature, low pH and species facilitation on the recruitment of Cystoseira compressa. We demonstrate that the interactive effects of OW and OA negatively affect the recruitment of C. compressa and its associated coralline algae Neogoniolithon brassica-florida. The density of recruits was lower under the combinations OW and OA, while the size was negatively affected by the temperature increase but positively affected by the low pH. The results from this study show that the interactive effects of climate change and the presence of crustose coralline algae can have a negative impact on the recruitment of Cystoseira s.l. species. While new restoration techniques recently opened the door to marine forest restoration, our results show that the interactions of multiple drivers and species interactions have to be considered to achieve long-term population sustainability.

Coralline red algae—a new host taxon for burrowing barnacles (Cirripedia, Acrothoracica)

To date, living acrothoracican barnacles have only been directly observed burrowing into the skeletons of marine animals or into calcareous rocks. While surveying the Acrothoracica of South Africa, we recorded live Weltneria spinosa Berndt, 1907, burrowed into a beach-cast rhodolith, comprising non-geniculate coralline red algae from the genus Lithophyllum Philippi, 1837. Unoccupied holes of the same acrothoracican were also found in another rhodolith identified as Neogoniolithon brassica-florida (Harvey) Setchell & L.R.Mason, 1943. A search of herbarium material also revealed the same acrothoracican species burrowing into two thick discoid coralline algal species, Lithophyllum neoatalayense Masaki, 1968, and Heydrichia woelkerlingii R.A.Townsend, Y.M.Chamberlain & Keats, 1994. These are the first unequivocal records of living acrothoracicans burrowing into coralline red algae. The fact that several algal species were colonized and that these were found across a range of sites suggests that coralline algae represent a previously unknown habitat type for this group of barnacles and that this habitat greatly increases the known range of substrates available for colonization. Further inspections of coralline algae in this and other regions will likely reveal many more new host records and possibly new host-specific acrothoracican species.

Heterozoan carbonate-enriched beach sand and coastal dunes—with particular reference to rhodoliths, Dirk Hartog Island, Shark Bay, Western Australia

This is a preliminary interdisciplinary study on the enrichment of heterozoan carbonates on Dirk Hartog Island, Shark Bay, Western Australia, with particular reference to rhodolith (free-living non-geniculate) coralline algae. The current study aims to investigate the geological impact of shallow-water rhodoliths in Shark Bay, as well as fill critical information gaps on the biogeographical distribution of rhodoliths in Australia. We analyzed the composition of sand from eight sites (totaling 21 beach and sand dune samples) on the eastern (windward) shore of the island, and investigated the origin of the coralline algal grains. Heterozoan carbonates (shell, geniculate coralline algae grains, and rhodolith grains) together comprised 3–84% of the carbonate-enriched beach and dune sand samples. While shell fragments often comprised the highest percentage (up to 73%), rhodolith grains (up to 27%) were found in 12 of 21 samples, with rhodolith grains also occurring in two dune samples. Geologically, the study has shown that rhodoliths and rhodolith beds are important shallow-marine habitats in Shark Bay, with a proven capacity to enrich beach/dune sands in Shark Bay and potentially other areas along the Australian coast. Biogeographically, the study confirmed the presence of a previously undescribed shallow rhodolith bed in Shark Bay (the first bed documented on the Western shore) with the possibility of a third bed near Sandy Point on Dirk Hartog Island. It also confirmed the presence of rhodolith forming Neogoniolithon brassica-florida and Lithophyllum sp. in Shark Bay, and is the first record of Hydrolithon reinboldii rhodoliths in Australia.

Environmental sensitivity of Neogoniolithon brassica-florida associated with vermetid reefs in the Mediterranean Sea

Vermetid reefs in the Mediterranean Sea are increasingly affected by both anthropogenic actions and global climate change, which are putting this coastal ecosystem at risk. The main species involved in building these reefs are two species of intertidal vermetid gastropods and the crustose calcareous alga, Neogoniolithon brassica-florida, which cements the gastropod shells and thus solidifying the reef edges. In the present study, we examined the pattern of distribution in the field and the environmental sensitivity (thermal tolerance, resilience to low pH, high light intensity and desiccation) of N. brassica-florida along the coasts of Sicily and Israel by means of chlorophyll fluorescence and total alkalinity measurements in situ and in the laboratory. Tidal regimes did not affect photosynthesis of N. brassica-florida but light intensity in the intertidal did. Sensitivity to increased light intensity was amplified by elevated temperature and reduced pH. Winter temperature above 16 °C caused a decrease in the photosynthetic performance of photo-system II. Similarly, a decrease in pH resulted in decreased maximum photosynthetic yield and electron transport rate. Calcification was significantly lower at pH 7.9 as compared with ambient (8.1) pH. In fact, dissolution at pH 7.9 at night was higher than net calcification during the day, suggesting that N. brassica-florida may not be able to contribute to reef accretion under the levels of seawater warming and ocean acidification projected by the end of this century.

Photosynthetic activity estimated as in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence in calcareous red macroalgae

Photosynthetic activity was estimated, in 2 different sets of experiments, as in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence in 2 calcareous red macroalgae: Neogoniolithon brassica-florida, which forms vermetid reefs with Dendropoma petraeum, and the rhodolith-forming Lithophyllum margaritae. In the first set of experiments, vermetid reefs collected from the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park (Almería, Spain) were incubated for 6 months in outdoor mesocosms at 2 different temperatures: ambient temperature (T) and ambient temperature plus 2 ºC (T+). Daily variations in effective quantum yields were related to the increase in solar radiation. Electron transport rate (ETR) was higher at T+ than at T. Oxygen production, estimated from ETR, was higher in N. brassica-florida growing in vermetid reefs in the coastal area than in those incubated in mesocosms or under laboratory conditions. In the second set of experiments, L. margaritae specimens with or without attached epifauna (mainly sponges) were collected at 2 sites (Pedregoso and CFE) on the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, and at 2 depths (1 and 2 m). ETR values for rhodoliths collected at 1 m depth and with attached epifauna were higher than those for rhodoliths collected at 2 m depth, indicating the importance of greater incident radiation on photosynthetic activity. Photosynthetic activity was higher in L. margaritae collected from Pedregoso, the site with better water quality (high transparency and low pollution) and rocky substrate availability. In the CFE samples, the photosynthetic efficiency (alphaETR) was highest in rhodoliths with attached epifauna. The highest ETR values for N. brassica-florida at T+ and the highest alphaETR or ETR values for L. margaritae with attached sponges may be explained by the increase in CO2 available for photosynthesis due to the respiration of the associated fauna. The usefulness of in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence for estimating photosynthetic production in calcareous macroalgae under multifactorial experiments is discussed.

Snapshot of a lower Pliocene Dendropoma reef from Sant Onofre (Baix Ebre Basin, Tarragona, NE Spain)

We study a vermetid–coralline algal buildup from the lower Pliocene deposits of the Baix Ebre Basin (Sant Onofre, NE Spain). The bioconstruction framework is made up by the intergrowth of Dendropoma and encrusting coralline algae, mostly Spongites fruticulosus with rare Neogoniolithon brassica-florida. Thus, it can be considered a fossil analog of the present-day Mediterranean Dendropoma reefs. The bioconstruction developed on top of a flat palaeotopographic high formed by pre-Pliocene substrate in a sheltered embayment. Submarine cliff sediments, consisting of big blocks and boulders, were deposited along the margin of the palaeohigh. Crusts of coralline algae, intergrowing with serpulids and vermetids, extend from the flat top downwards along the talus. Gray-bluish marl, yellowish silt and fine-grained sand, were deposited in the surrounding low areas. A rich and diverse dweller assemblage occurs in the buildup: bivalves (pectinids, venerids, Lithophaga), gastropods (muricids, nassarids, olivids, cancellarids), ahermatypic coral Cladocora ?, barnacles of the family Pyrgomatidae, Balanus trigonus and regular echinoids. In the talus deposits, clusters of Neopycnodonte cochlear, Hinnites ercolanianus and Balanus sp. dominate the faunal assemblage. Further, the blocks of the talus are densely bored, showing Gastrochaenolites, Entobia, Maeandropolydora and Caulostrepsis. Faunal and boring assemblages indicate that the buildup settled and developed in very shallow conditions (most likely less than 10m water depth). The whole fossil assemblage, framework and dweller community, are preserved in situ, maintaining their original growth positions. Development in a protected setting, together with rapid burial due to progradation of siliciclastics on top of the palaeotopographic high, accounts for this exceptional preservation in such a shallow environment.The vermetid bioconstruction of Sant Onofre represents the only carbonate deposits found in the lower Pliocene basins of NE Spain. Sequence stratigraphic architecture indicates that these carbonates represent the maximum flooding deposits. Thus, maximum carbonate production took place due to sediment starvation in the palaeohigh while terrigenous deposits were formed in the surrounded low areas.

Community structure of rhodolith-forming beds on the central Brazilian continental shelf

The community structure of rhodoliths beds in the central Brazilian continental shelf was studied under the hypothesis that nongeniculate coralline algae are the major contributors of the individual rhodoliths. Samples were collected from five localities within a single area at 17–18 m depth. At each locality, rhodoliths were collected in 10 random quadrat samples along a 20-m transect. Our results show that dead cores of rhodoliths were significantly composed by nongeniculate coralline red algae rather than bryozoans, corals, or inorganic material. The live outer layers of the rhodoliths are composed mainly of 7 species of nongeniculate red coralline algae (Lithophyllum coralline, L. johansenii, L. depressum, L. stictaeformis, Neogoniolithon brassica-florida, Spongites fruticosus, and Lithothamnion muellerii) associated with other encrusting organisms such as bryozoans, sponges, corals, barnacles, and Peyssonnelia red algae. Significant differences were found in the proportion of Lithophyllum species in relation to other red coralline algae found in this study. Our results show that on the Brazilian continental shelf, the rhodolith-forming species are quite higher in size than in any other studied areas in the world. There was no difference in the proportion of live-to-dead rhodolith materials, suggesting an old bed deposit. Also, the amount of calcium carbonate material in the specimens is relevant to take in account in terms of the CO2 balance worldwide.

The Neogoniolithon brassica-florida (Harvey) Setchell & L.R. Mason (1943) Reef of Bahiret el Bibane Lagoon (Southeastern Tunisia)

Abstract Neogoniolithon brassica-florida (encrusting rhodobionta) is generally reported as a veneering coral community along the wave-beaten rocky coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Its presence in the hyperhaline lagoon of Bahiret el Bibane, situated in SE Tunisia, takes on particular importance because of its extension. It constitutes a reef formation 14 km long developing on both sides of the sea inlet. The building of this “natural monument” seems to be the result of an evolutionary series. The aim of this study was to investigate the current status of this reef, comparing it to 30 years ago. The current extension of the Neogoniolithon brassica-florida reef appears to be much reduced from that reported 30 years ago, indicating a regression of 26%. Four different phases leading to the reef building were also identified.

Coralline algae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in western and central Mediterranean Messinian reefs

Coralline algae are common components in Messinian reefs in the Sorbas Basin in SE Spain and in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy). They occur encrusting coral skeletons and other bioclasts, forming rhodoliths, and as fragments in back-reef, reef-framework, and proximal-to-middle slope facies. Corallines also occur in Halimeda boundstones associated to coral reefs. In contrast, no coralline algae have been recorded in the fine-grained distal slope deposits in both areas and in lagoonal marly limestones in Salento. The relative abundance of corallines in reefs and their species richness is significantly higher in the Salento platform than in the intermontane Sorbas Basin, which was affected by terrigenous influx. Neogoniolithon brassica-florida and Spongites fruticulosus dominate the shallow-water assemblages; Lithophyllum records peak at the base of reef-core and upper-slope deposits (around 20 m palaeodepth) and Phymatolithon calcareum and species of Lithothamnion are most abundant in deeper slope facies. The main components of the Messinian Mediterranean reef coralline assemblages are extant species, common in the Mediterranean and along the north Atlantic coast from Morocco (and the Canary Islands) to the British Islands. A few, such as Spongites fruticulosus and Phymatolithon calcareum, have been living in the Mediterranean region for more than 25 Ma. Four species still live in the Indo-Pacific but disappeared from the Mediterranean during the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The typical components of present-day Indo-Pacific coral reefs do not occur in the Mediterranean Messinian reefs. The ‘Mediterranean–Atlantic’ character of the Messinian reef corallines reflects the decrease in tropical biotas in the Mediterranean throughout the Miocene, probably related to global cooling and isolation of the Mediterranean from the Indian Ocean since the Middle Miocene.

Community structure of a rhodolith bed from cold-temperate waters (southern Australia)

Rhodolith beds are aggregations of free-living non-geniculate coralline red algae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta), with a high biodiversity of associated organisms. This is the first detailed study of a rhodolith-bed community from the cold-temperate waters of southern Australia. This bed, located at 1–4-m depth in Western Port, Victoria, is composed of four rhodolith-forming species (Hydrolithon rupestre (Foslie) Penrose, Lithothamnion superpositum Foslie, Mesophyllum engelhartii (Foslie) Adey and Neogoniolithon brassica-florida (Harvey) Setchell & Mason). M. engelhartii has a foliose growth form and the other three species have fruticose growth forms. Detailed descriptions are provided for all species, allowing reliable identification. Comparisons with other rhodolith beds and reported rhodolith-forming species, both in Australia and worldwide, are also provided. The invertebrate cryptofaunal community was quantified for two rhodolith-forming species. The density of cryptofauna inhabiting foliose and fruticose rhodolith growth forms did not differ significantly and neither did abundance of individual phyla. Mean density of fauna was 0.4 invertebrates cm–3, the majority of which were polychaete worms. Comparisons of fauna associated with other rhodolith beds are also provided. A study of the vitality of the rhodolith bed showed dead rhodoliths are more abundant than live rhodoliths. Possible reasons for reduced bed vitality are explored.

Duration of overgrowth affects survival of encrusting coralline algae

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 321:79-85 (2006) - doi:10.3354/meps321079 Duration of overgrowth affects survival of encrusting coralline algae Fabio Bulleri* Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali in Ravenna, and Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica e Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, Ravenna 48100, ItalyPresent address: Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Via A. Volta 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy *Email: fbulleri@biologia.unipi.it ABSTRACT: Encrusting algae can withstand being overgrown for relatively long periods of time. Knowledge of the mechanisms operating to reduce loss of biomass and of the temporal scales over which these are efficient is crucial for understanding competitive interactions occurring via overgrowth. In some red encrusting algae, the translocation of metabolites from unshaded to shaded parts of the thallus has been indicated as a possible mechanism for their resistance to overgrowth. This study tested the hypothesis that the efficacy of the connection between shaded and unshaded portions of the thallus in promoting the survival of the encrusting coralline alga Neogoniolithon brassica-florida, when overgrown, would vary according to the duration of the overgrowth. This hypothesis was tested experimentally by manipulating the availability of light and the connection between shaded and unshaded parts of the thalli. Although there was a slightly different response between experimental trials, the connection with unshaded parts enhanced the survival of shaded parts of the thallus, over a period of about 3 mo. In contrast, 8 mo after the start of the experiment, the percentage cover of living N. brassica-florida under artificial shading devices was small, irrespective of the presence or absence of a connection with unshaded parts of the thallus. These results support the model that translocation of nutrients across the thallus could enable encrusting algae to survive being overgrown, but not indefinitely. This study underpins the need to take into account life-history traits of interacting species when interpreting competition occurring via overgrowth. KEY WORDS: Encrusting algae · Overgrowth · Competition · Subtidal · Rocky reefs Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 321. Online publication date: September 08, 2006 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2006 Inter-Research.

The Corallinaceae, subfamily Mastophoroideae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in south-eastern Australia

The first monographic account of the south-eastern Australian representatives of the Corallinaceae, subfamily Mastophoroideae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) is presented. The Mastophoroideae contains eight extant genera, four of which [Hydrolithon, Mastophora, Neogoniolithon, Pneophyllum] were confirmed to occur in south-eastern Australia. Hydrolithon is represented by six species (H. farinosum, H. improcerum, H. munitum, H. onkodes, H. rupestre and H. samoënse). Pneophyllum is represented by three species (P. coronatum, P. fragile and P. submersiporum) while Mastophora and Neogoniolithon are represented by a single species each (Mastophora pacifica and Neogoniolithon brassica-florida). Morphological and anatomical accounts are provided, including keys to genera and species, comparisons with related south-eastern Australian mastophoroid species, information on distribution, seasonality, habitat and nomenclature. Brief biogeographical comparisons between south-eastern Australia and other Australasian regions are also made.

Inhibition of settlement and metamorphosis of the ascidian Herdmania curvata by non-geniculate coralline algae

The surfaces of non-geniculate coralline algae (NCA) are known to induce the settlement and metamorphosis of disparate marine taxa. In this study we investigate the responsiveness of larvae of Herdmania curvata (Ascidiacea: Stolidobranchia) to three species of NCA (Neogoniolithon brassica-florida, Hydrolithon onkodes, and Lithothamnium prolifer) that cohabit the slope and crest of Heron Reef, Great Barrier Reef. H. curvata larvae were first exposed to these NCA at or within 2 h of hatching, which is 1 to 2 h prior to attaining competence, and then cultured continuously with the NCA for 12 to 14 h. Rates of settlement and metamorphosis of H. curvata cultured in laboratory chambers in the presence of the different NCA were significantly lower than spontaneous rates in seawater. The limited settlement in treatments containing NCA were confined entirely to the chamber periphery, and settlement never occurred on the surface of the NCA. The inhibitory effect was dose-dependent and was stronger in N. brassica-florida and H. onkodes than in L. prolifer. Larvae that did not settle in treatments with NCA had rounded anterior trunks and, in extreme cases, kinked tails with rounded and dissociated tail muscle cells. In some individuals, we observed the anterior chemosensory papillae being sloughed off the larval body. Morphological analysis of trunk ectodermal and mesenchymal nuclei of larvae cultured in the presence of the NCA revealed that general necrotic cell death was occurring. Importantly, H. curvata larvae that were exposed to NCA could not subsequently be induced to metamorphose in KCl-elevated seawater, whereas larvae not exposed to NCA metamorphosed at high rates in KCl-elevated seawater.