green seaweed research questions (and useful, scientific input!)
Hi Bob,
I found your address at the WetWeb site and thought I'd contact you
directly. Hope you don't mind.
<Not at all>
I'm a bio professor/researcher who studies the reproductive behavior
of tropical green algae in their natural environments (Halimeda,
Caulerpa, Penicillus, etc). I notice a fair number of posts to aquarium
sites that have to do with "green clouds", "white" or "dying seaweeds",
etc. and recognize (as you do) that most of this relates to the sexual
reproduction of these seaweeds... a 24 hour conversion from sterile to
fertile condition, followed by explosive gamete release at dawn and
immediate death of the "parent".
<Yes.>
My research explores the consequences of these reproductive events on
coral reefs (mostly Caribbean, though I'm currently on sabbatical in
Guam). I'm particularly interested in what induces a seaweed to become
fertile, since we often find hundred to thousands of algae on a reef (but
never all of them) becoming simultaneously fertile... not only is the
ensuing bout of sex the next morning a spectacular visual phenominon..
the subsequent death of so many "adult" seaweeds has important
ecological implications for the reef community as a whole.
<Agreed>
I notice from various posts within the aquarium trade that lights,
chemistry, temperature, stress, etc, etc, are implicated in the onset or
prevention of reproduction by green seaweeds in aquaria. Do you know of
any formal treatment of this idea...
<No... unfortunately seem to be entirely anecdotal accounts... of "stress", change that bring on these events.>
or is it just a hodgepodge of
observations thrown out over time? I notice you reference "24 h"
lighting as a preventative and I've seen reference to blue lights, or
non-blue lights (can't remember which) having similar effects. If you're
interested, I'd love to pick your brain about this... or you can sic me
on someone else.
<Very glad to be of assistance.>
If interested, you can also learn more about my research on seaweeds by
visiting:
http://lclark.edu/~clifton/Algae.html
<Thank you much for this reference. Will post to our sites (WetWebMedia)for hobbyist perusal>
Thanks for your time... I hope to hear back from you.
Ken Clifton
<Sorry for the delay in response. Have been on a liveaboard... in the Bahamas. Be chatting, Bob Fenner>
