The Species Composition, Seasonal Succession, Reproduction and Distribution of Marine Algae from Scituate to Woods Hole, Massachusetts
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Summer 1971 THE SPECIES COMPOSITION, SEASONAL SUCCESSION, REPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF MARINE ALGAE FROM SCITUATE TO WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS DOUGLAS CLIFTON COLEMAN Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation COLEMAN, DOUGLAS CLIFTON, "THE SPECIES COMPOSITION, SEASONAL SUCCESSION, REPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF MARINE ALGAE FROM SCITUATE TO WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS" (1971). Doctoral Dissertations. 963. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/963 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 72-3735 COLEMAN, Douglas Clifton, 1943- THE SPECIES COMPOSITION, SEASONAL SUCCESSION, REPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF MARINE ALGAE FROM SCITUATE TO WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS. University of New Hampshire, Ph.D., 1971 Marine Sciences University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFLIMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE SPECIES COMPOSITION, SEASONAL SUCCESSION, REPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OP MARINE ALGAE PROM SCITUATE TO WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS by DOUGLAS C. COLEMAN B. A. STERLING COLLEGE, STERLING, KANSAS, 1967 A DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate School Department of Botany July, 1971 This thesis has been examined and approved. CcA-C/i-it 0 C Arthur O'. 14 at hie son, Thesis" Birector Associate Professor Robert' A.'NCr'bker , Associate Professor p . AlbionR. RodgdonJ Professor of Botany Avery ’C Professor/of Plant Pathology iij.uua.ru w . o w u ’tfxue. Professor of Botany I^IIH PLEASE NOTE: Some Pages have indistinct print. Filmed as received. UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish, to express my sincere thanks to the following people who assisted me in this dissertation: first to my advisor, Dr. Arthur C. Mathieson for his interest in me as a person, his stimulation, continued encouragement through out the entire project and for the countless hours devoted to the review of the manuscript; Dr. Albion Hodgdon, Dr. Avery Bich, Dr. Richard Schreiher and Dr. Robert Croker for their continued support and encouragement and for the time they spent reviewing the manuscript. The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without their careful review and valuable comments. I would especially like to thank Richard Fralick, Dr. Ruth Turner, and John Hansman for the hours they spent diving with me and collecting specimens. Their devotion especially during rough winter weather is deeply appreciated. I would also like to thank Barry Hutchinson for the excellent job he did in preparing the figures. I am also grateful to Dr. Richard B u m s of the Biology Department at Franklin Fierce College for his special encouragement. I express particular thanks to the Army Corps of Engi neers at Cape Cod for without its assistance the Canal would have been inaccessible to diving. In addition, I thank Dean Bumpus and Joseph Chase of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for the use of their temperature and salinity data. I am also thankful to Dr. Robert Edwards of the Bureau of iii Commercial Fisheries Laboratory, at Woods Hole, for the use of the "Fisheries Jetty". Lastly, I wish to express my deepest thanks to my fiancee, family and many friends for their untiring patience, continued enthusiasm, and encouragement throughout the prepa ration of this manuscript. TABLE OP CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES.................................... vi LIST OP TABLES..................................... vii ABSTRACT............................................. viii INTRODUCTION............. 1 METHODS AND MATERIALS............................... 3 DESCRIPTION OP AREA AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS........ 5 GENERAL SPECIES COMPOSITION ......................... 10 TOTAL NUMBERS OP SPECIES PER STATION................. 12 LONGEVITY OP SPECIES................................ 13 SEASONAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SUCCESSION................. 15 VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION........................ »*.... 16 REPRODUCTION..................................... 18 EFFECTS OP A POWER PL A N T ............................ 20 DISCUSSION......................................... 21 SUMMARY............................................ 28 REFERENCES......................................... 31 APPENDIX........................................... 109 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of Gape Cod, Massachusetts ....... 38 Figure 2. Map showing stations 2-5 in the Cape Cod C a n a l ......... 40 Figure 3. Contour of the Cape Cod C a n a l ............ 42 Figure 4. Mean monthly variation of surface water salinity at stations 1,3,5 and 7 during 1969 ................................... 44- Figure 5» Mean monthly variation of surface water temperatures at stations 1 ,3,5 and 7 during 1969 ............................. 46 Figure 6 . Mean daily variation of surface water temperatures at stations 1 ,3,5 and 7 during January and July, 1969 ............ 46 Figure ?. Hourly variation of surface water tem peratures in the Cape Cod Canal during January and July, 1969 ................... 50 Figure 8 . Number of northern, southern and cosmopolitan species at each station...... 52 Figure 9- Number of species at each station ... 54- Figure 10. Monthly number of species numbers at stations 1-3 ......... 56 Figure 11. Monthly number of species numbers at stations 4 - 7 ............................ 58 Figure 12. Number of annuals and perennials at each station............................ 60 Figure 13. Monthly number of annuals at stations 1,4 and 7 ............................... 62 Figure 14. Vertical distribution of species at each station ......................... 64 vi LIST OF TABLES Table I. Species composition, seasonality, and reproductive periodicity of taxa at station 1 .............................. 66 Table II. Species composition, seasonality, and reproductive periodicity of taxa at station 2 .............................. 71 Table III. Species composition, seasonality, and reproductive periodicity of taxa at station 3 .............................. 75 Table IV. Species composition, seasonality, and reproductive periodicity of taxa at station 4 .............................. 79 Table V. Species composition, seasonality, and reproductive periodicity of taxa at station 5 .............................. 83 Table VI. Species composition, seasonality, and reproductive periodicity of taxa at station 6 ........... .. .......... ..... 87 Table VII. Species composition, seasonality, and reproductive periodicity of taxa at station 7 .............................. 91 Table VIII. Monthly number of annual and perennial Chlorophyta at each station.............. 96 Table IX. Monthly number of annual and perennial Bhodophyta at each station.............. 98 Table X. Monthly number of annual and perennial Phaeophyta at each station............... 100 Table XI. Dominant annuals north and south of the C a n a l .................................. 102 Table XII. Dominant perennials north and south of the C a n a l ............................... 104 Table XIII. Patterns of seasonal occurrence of annuals................................. 106 Table XIV. Patterns of reproductive periodicities of annuals.............................. 108 vii ABSTRACT The species composition, seasonal succession, reproduc tion and distribution of the marine algae at seven stations from Scituate to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including the Cape Cod Canal, were described. Particular attention was paid to the transitional nature of the Cape Cod Canal, which connects the warm waters of Buzzards Bay and the cold waters of Cape Cod Bay. Bimonthly collections were made from January to December, 1969. A total of 106 species was recorded. Each species was categorized as a northern, southern, or cosmopoli tan form, according to its major center of distribution. The majority of species was cosmopolitan, but distinct northern and southern components were also found. Conspicuous differences in species numbers were evident at each station. Scituate and Woods Hole had the highest numbers, while intermediate values were recorded in the Canal. Most of the species at Scituate and in the Canal were peren nials; annuals were most abundant at Wings Neck and Woods Hole. The Rhodophyceae accounted for most of the spring and summer annuals, while the browns were the major contributors of winter annuals. Spring and early summer annuals appeared several weeks sooner at Wings Neck and Woods Hole than at Scituate. Some species appeared as spring annuals south of the Cape, but as summer annuals at Scituate. The reproductive periodicity of most species was recorded at each station. Some species reproduced throughout the year, while others were viii restricted to either warm or cold seasons. The vertical distributions of the species at each station were categorized. Host species at Scituate were found in the intertidal and/or subtidal zone(s), while those at all other stations were collected primarily in the sub- tidal zone. Numerous factors are responsible for the verti cal displacement of species recorded. An interpretation of the distributional patterns