Evidence for sexual reproduction in the red algae Palmaria palmata and Halosaccion ramentaceum

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (21) ◽  
pp. 2452-2459 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. van der Meer ◽  
L. C-M. Chen

Plants believed to be female gametophytes of Palmaria palmata and Halosaccion ramentaceum have been discovered in culture. Tetraspores of diploid tetrasporophytes gave rise to two types of haploid sporelings, one of which grew much more robustly and was less branched than the other. A 1:1 ratio of the two types was obtained from random spores and a 2:2 segregation occurred within individual meiotic tetrads. The more robust plants proved to be males which matured relatively quickly and produced abundant spermatangia. The smaller plants, those believed to be females, grew much more slowly and eventually formed sporangia. However, these aborted without releasing viable spores. Nuclear division within the sporangia appeared to be a haploid meiosis. Fertile tetrasporic fronds of P. palmata were obtained from gametophytes in culture on one occasion, and these gave rise to a second generation of segregating sporelings. A life history for P. palmata and H. ramentaceum roughly comparable to that of Liagora tetrasporifera is suggested by the results.

Author(s):  
M. D. Guiry

The life history and taxonomic position of Rhodymenia palmata (Linnaeus) Greville, one of the commonest red algae in the northern hemisphere, have been a source of considerable speculation. Carpogonial plants and carposporangial plants are unknown although tetrasporangial plants are common and spermatangial plants have been reported on numerous occasions. A parallel situation occurs in the genus Halosaccion Kützing for which carpogonial and carposporangial plants have never been recorded and spermatangial plants are well known only in the species Halosaccion ramentaceum (Linnaeus) J. G. Agardh. It is proposed in this paper to consider the relationship of Rhodymenia palmata to the other genera of the Rhodymeniaceae (Rhodymeniales) particularly Halosaccion and Leptosarca Gepp & Gepp.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Christou

This article explores the theoretical and methodological implications of the study of second generation migration through the use of life stories, a narrative and biographical approach. It presents a theoretical contextualisation of life history research in addressing the direction it has taken in the study of migration and identity in order to problematise how the subject and subjectivities in narrative research have been framed by social categorisations such as gender, ethnicity, class as well as social experiences such as trauma, exile, memory and imagination. The paper develops the analytical contribution of researching the biographicity of everyday migrant lives. 


1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith L. Connor

AbstractField studies of the benthic macroalgae of fifteen selected Chesapeake Bay oyster communities were conducted over a period of a year (March 1977 to February 1978). Algal distribu tion and seasonal occurrence were studied in relation to changes in the physical environment. Salinity, temperature, and light availability were important factors in the spatial and temporal distributions of algae in these subtidal habitats.Seventeen species of Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta were recorded from the fifteen study sites distributed over 130 kilometers within the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay. Species of Chlorophyta were associated with oyster communities throughout the year of study with maximum numbers of species and maximum biomass occurring in spring. Only once was a member of the Phaeophyta encountered; a single filamentous species, Ectocarpus, was collected during winter. Species of Rhodophyta were present throughout the year at the study sites.Most of the algae collected reproduced asexually by spores and/or vegetative fragments. Sexual reproduction occurred in some of the red algal species. The presence of tetrasporic and cystocarpic plants of Dasya baillouviana and Polysiphonia harveyi var. olneyi may indicate that the usual triphasic Florideophycean life history occurs in this estuary.


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 2904-2911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. McIlraith ◽  
Gordon G. C. Robinson ◽  
Jennifer M. Shay

Field experiments and survey methods were used to assess competition and interaction between Lemna minor L. and Lemna trisulca L. at Delta Marsh, Manitoba. Sites were dominated by one or the other species or codominated by both. Replacement series experiments predicted codominance of L. minor and L. trisulca in an unshaded eutrophic site but predicted L. minor dominance when run for a longer time. Similar experiments conducted in a shaded eutrophic site predicted L. minor dominance. Addition series experiments showed that intraspecific and interspecific competition occurred in the unshaded site. In a eutrophic unshaded ditch, high densities of L. minor suppressed L. trisulca. In a eutrophic shaded site, high densities of L. minor and green algae inhibited L. trisulca, and in a sunny, less eutrophic site high density of each species inhibited the other. In a transplant experiment, L. minor biomass in shaded enclosures approached that found naturally in two shaded sites. Lemna trisulca persisted when shaded. Vegetative biomass trends in an unshaded eutrophic marsh ditch indicated spring and fall L. trisulca dominance and summer L. minor dominance. Shaded eutrophic sites were dominated by L. minor, whereas a less eutrophic site was dominated by L. trisulca. A model is developed to explain dominance patterns, and seasonal life-history responses are considered. Key words: Lemna, duckweed, competition, interaction, resources, light, nutrients.


1898 ◽  
Vol 63 (389-400) ◽  
pp. 56-61

The two most important deviations from the normal life-history of ferns, apogamy and apospory, are of interest in themselves, but acquire a more general importance from the possibility that their study may throw light on the nature of alternation of generations in archegoniate plants. They have been considered from this point of view Pringsheim, and by those who, following him, regard the two generations as homologous with one another in the sense that the sporophyte arose by the gradual modification of individuals originally resemblin the sexual plant. Celakovsky and Bower, on the other hand, maintaint the view tha t the sporophyte, as an interpolated stage in the life-history arising by elaboration of the zygote, a few thallophytes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zivkovic ◽  
M. Devic ◽  
B. Filipovic ◽  
Z. Giba ◽  
D. Grubisic

The influence of high NaCl concentrations on seed germination in both light and darkness was examined in the species Centaurium pulchellum, C. erythraea, C. littorale, C. spicatum, and C. tenuiflorum. Salt tolerance was found to depend on the life history of the seeds. To be specific, seeds of all five species failed to complete germination when exposed to continuous white light if kept all the time in the presence of 100-200 mM and greater NaCl concentrations. However, when after two weeks NaCl was rinsed from the seeds and the seeds were left in distilled water under white light for an additional two weeks, all species completed germination to a certain extent. The percent of germination not only depended on NaCl concentration in the prior medium, but was also species specific. Thus, seeds of C. pulchellum, C. erythraea, and C. littorale completed germination well almost irrespective of the salt concentration previously experienced. On the other hand, seeds of C. tenuiflorum completed germination poorly if NaCl concentrations in the prior media were greater than 200 mM. When seeds after washing were transferred to darkness for an additional 14 days, they failed to complete germination if previously imbibed on media containing NaCl concentrations greater than 400 mM. However, the seeds of all species, even if previously imbibed at 800 mM NaCl, could be induced to complete germination in darkness by 1 mM gibberellic acid. .


2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1744) ◽  
pp. 4033-4041 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vézilier ◽  
A. Nicot ◽  
S. Gandon ◽  
A. Rivero

Long-lived mosquitoes maximize the chances of Plasmodium transmission. Yet, in spite of decades of research, the effect of Plasmodium parasites on mosquito longevity remains highly controversial. On the one hand, many studies report shorter lifespans in infected mosquitoes. On the other hand, parallel (but separate) studies show that Plasmodium reduces fecundity and imply that this is an adaptive strategy of the parasite aimed at redirecting resources towards longevity. No study till date has, however, investigated fecundity and longevity in the same individuals to see whether this prediction holds. In this study, we follow for both fecundity and longevity in Plasmodium- infected and uninfected mosquitoes using a novel, albeit natural, experimental system. We also explore whether the genetic variations that arise through the evolution of insecticide resistance modulate the effect of Plasmodium on these two life-history traits. We show that (i) a reduction in fecundity in Plasmodium- infected mosquitoes is accompanied by an increase in longevity; (ii) this increase in longevity arises through a trade-off between reproduction and survival; and (iii) in insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, the slope of this trade-off is steeper when the mosquito is infected by Plasmodium (cost of insecticide resistance).


Author(s):  
André M. de Roos ◽  
Lennart Persson

This chapter discusses a variety of positive interactions between predators foraging on different stages of the same prey species, which all emerge owing to the biomass overcompensation that may occur in prey life history stages in response to increased mortality. These interactions include emergent facilitation of specialist predators by generalists that forage on the same prey individuals as the specialists, but in addition forage on smaller or larger prey individuals as well. Furthermore, the chapter shows that two predators that specialize on different life-history stages of prey can facilitate each other to the extent that one predator relies on the presence of the other for its persistence. A stage-specific predator may act as a catalyst species, which promotes and in fact is necessary for the invasion of another predator species, but is subsequently outcompeted by the latter.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document