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The Ecological Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-Bottom Habitats

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The Ecological Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-Bottom Habitats University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2012 The cologE ical Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-bottom Habitats Laura Bedinger University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Bedinger, Laura, "The cE ological Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-bottom Habitats" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3972 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Ecological Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-bottom Habitats by Laura Ann Bedinger A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Integrative Biology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Susan S. Bell, Ph.D. Clinton J. Dawes, Ph.D. Peter D. Stiling, Ph.D. Kevin S. Beach, Ph.D. Date of Approval: May 3, 2012 Keywords: Bryopsidales, rhizoid, Florida, seagrass bed, biomass, succession, disturbance, vegetative reproduction, regeneration, secondary metabolite, fouling Copyright © 2012, Laura Ann Bedinger DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my amazing husband Matt and my loving parents Gail and Mike. Without their continued support and encouragement this dissertation would not have been possible. It is also dedicated to the ocean and the algae for being a source of inspiration. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my major professor, Susan Bell, for the guidance and support she has provided throughout my doctoral degree and for helping me expand my knowledge of marine ecology. Clinton Dawes graciously shared his knowledge of marine botany, provided helpful feedback on my work, introduced me to scanning electron microscopy, and was very helpful throughout my degree, for all of which I am grateful. Valerie Paul was a great summer fellowship mentor and I thoroughly enjoyed my summer at SMS, Fort Pierce where I learned a lot. Thanks go to Peter Stiling and Kevin Beach for serving on my committee and their input into my research and manuscripts. Financial support was provided by a Link Foundation/Smithsonian Institution Fellowship, a Tharp Summer Fellowship from USF Biology, a Summer Pre-doctoral Fellowship from USF Graduate School, Fern Garden Club, Orange Blossom Garden Club, and Sigma Xi. Thanks go to many graduate students and post docs for their help and friendship as I pursued this doctorate including: Jenny Peterson, Mike Middlebrooks, Justin Krebs, Kerry Bohl, Theresa Meickle, Katie Basiotis, Amy Erickson, Lesley Porter Baggett, Louise Firth, Stacy Villanueva, Alison Meyers, and Michael Meads. Many people at USF deserve thanks for contributing in a variety of ways to my research or other aspects my graduate student career. These people include: Christine Brubaker, Mary Parrish, Betty Loraamm, Skip Pierce, Frederick Essig, Jim Garey, Jason Rohr, and John Lawrence. Many undergraduates helped me complete this research both in the field and in the lab. Sam Shiver, Jennifer Strykowski, and Natalie McCune all contributed many, many hours, braving cold, heat, and thunderstorms in the field and tedium in the lab. I would like to thank Holly Gray for drawing the first figure in Chapter Three. And lastly, but most importantly, I thank Matt Neilson for his tremendous support and fantastic home-cooked meals. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ............................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................ v Abstract ........................................................................................................................vii Chapter One: A Synoptic Review of the Ecology of Rhizophytic Green Algae ................ 1 Rhizophytic Algae and Rhizoids .......................................................................... 1 The Importance of Rhizophytic Algae .................................................................. 3 Rhizophytic Algae, Succession, and Interaction with Seagrasses .......................... 4 Other Community Level Interactions ................................................................... 6 Organization of This Dissertation ....................................................................... 10 Literature Cited .................................................................................................. 11 Chapter Two: Rhizophytic Algal Communities of Shallow, Coastal Habitats in Florida: Components Above and Below the Sediment Surface ....................... 16 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 16 Methods ............................................................................................................. 19 Data analysis .......................................................................................... 23 Results .............................................................................................................. 25 Plant community composition ................................................................ 25 Aboveground thalli ................................................................................. 27 Sediments ............................................................................................... 28 Holdfasts ................................................................................................ 29 Above- and belowground comparisons ................................................... 33 Discussion ......................................................................................................... 35 Plant community composition ................................................................ 35 Above- and belowground components .................................................... 38 Ecological implications .......................................................................... 42 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 43 Literature Cited .................................................................................................. 44 Chapter Three: Regeneration and Recolonization of Rhizophytic Green Algae (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) by Vegetative Reproduction in Field Experiments ........................................................................................... 64 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 64 Methods ............................................................................................................. 70 Overview of study design and locations .................................................. 70 Regeneration from manipulated holdfasts ............................................... 71 i Holdfast size and regeneration ................................................................ 72 Recruitment of new plants ...................................................................... 73 Results ............................................................................................................... 75 Regeneration from manipulated holdfasts ............................................... 75 Holdfast size, regeneration, and handling control .................................... 76 Recruitment of new plants ...................................................................... 78 Discussion.......................................................................................................... 82 Summary ................................................................................................ 89 Literature Cited .................................................................................................. 90 Chapter Four: Secondary Metabolites Are Not Used by Rhizophytic Green Algae (Order Bryopsidales) to Inhibit Surface Fouling ................................... 112 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 112 Methods ........................................................................................................... 114 Collection and Handling of Seaweeds ................................................... 114 Surface Extractions ............................................................................... 114 Whole Plant Extractions ....................................................................... 115 Analysis of Extracts .............................................................................. 116 Surface Morphology ............................................................................. 116 Results ............................................................................................................ 117 Discussion........................................................................................................ 118 Literature Cited ................................................................................................ 120 Appendix A: Holdfast-Handling
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