of the genus (Dictyophyceae, Phaeophycota) in the coastal waters of Karachi

Item Type article

Authors Aisha, K.; Shameel, Mustafa; Imran, Muhammad

Download date 27/09/2021 07:27:33

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/40752 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 19(1&2), 33-44, 2010.

TAXONOMY OF THE GENUS SPATOGLOSSUM (DICTYOPHYCEAE, PHAEOPHYCOTA) IN THE COASTAL WATERS OF KARACHI

K. Aisha, Mustafa Shameel and Muhammad Imran Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan.

ABSTRACT: Three flattened, striped species of Spatoglossum Kützing were collected from northernmost part of the Arabian Sea and taxonomically investigated. First time detailed taxonomic study of the algal genus from the coast of Pakistan, based on a large survey (1989-1996) of different coastal areas of Karachi. This study revealed three species of the genus which are examined taxonomically which included morphology, anatomy as well as reproduction.

KEYWORDS: Algae, Phaeophycota, Spatoglossum, taxonomy, growth, Arabian Sea.

INTRODUCTION

Occurrence of the at the coast of Karachi was first reported by Anand (1940). This coast dominated by the brown seaweed due to tropical rocky coast. Spatoglossum is an important member of the family (order , class Dictyophyceae, Phaeophycota; fide Shameel, 2008) and develops a community at shallow rocky pools with sandy bottom from mid to lower littoral zones. Most of these investigations were simple ecological surveys, and no composite taxonomic study of this genus was ever carried out from any area of Pakistan. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken, based on a large taxonomic survey.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Surveys were conducted of different coastal areas of Karachi (Pakistan) during 1989- 1996. Algal thalli were detached from the rocks at mid and lower littoral zones and preserved in 4 % formaldehyde. Different parts of thalli were cut into thin slices with the help of shaving blade by free hand section cutting technique. Sections were stained in 1 % aniline blue for 5-10 minutes, one or two drops of 1M hydrochloric acid were added for 30 seconds and washed with seawater. The sections were then mounted in a solution of 75 % glycerin with aniline blue (75 mL Gly + 20 mL aniline blue + 5 mL distilled water). Finally the slides were sealed with the sealing material (Cutex) and observed under microscope (Nikon, Japan).

Genus Spatoglossum Kützing 1843:339: Thallus foliaceous, flat, membranous; attached by matted rhizoidal holdfast; irregularly sub-palmately branched, and sometime sub-dichotomously branched; margins usually entire but sometime dentation present on whole thallus and rarely lacerated; proliferations present and become flattened; when thallus sub-dichotomously divided it forms obtuse angle between branches; thalli composed of 4-15 layers of cells, cells of 34 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 19(1&2), 2010. peripheral region radially arranged whereas cortical cells in lower or basal portion transversely arranged, but in upper part are scattered with large intercellular spaces; growth takes place by marginal rows of apical cells; phaeophycotean hairs are scattered on thallus surface, sometimes cryptostomata are present; sori are scattered on both surfaces, embedded in epidermal or peripheral and little cortical portion. From the coast of Karachi four species of Spatoglossum have been described (Nizamuddin & Perveen 1986, Begum & Khatoon 1988), out of which two species i.e. S. schroederi (C. Agardh) Kützing and S. australasicum Kützing are doubtful, because the description of S. schroederi was not provided and the diagnosis of S. australasicum is similar with S. asperum J. Agardh. The current studies reveal the presence of three species only and the other above mentioned species was not found during collection trips. These species may be distinguished as given below. 1. Thallus with definite dentation at margin ………………... Spatoglossum asperum Thallus without definite dentation ……………………………………………… 2 2. Thalli 4-15 layers thick ………………………………….. Spatoglossum variabile Thalli 4-7 layers thick ………………………………... Spatoglossum schroederi

Spatoglossum asperum J. Agardh 1894:36: Fig. 1, 2(a-e)

References: Agardh 1894:36, Børgesen 1935:35, 1937b:313, 1941:48, Durairatnam 1961:34, Salim 1965:193, Misra 1966: 160, 1967:233, Krishnamurthy and Joshi 1970:11, Jaasund 1976: 43, Nizamuddin and Perveen 1986:126, Shameel and Afaq-Husain 1987:295, Silva et al. 1987:79, 1996:608, Begum and Khatoon 1988:298, Shameel et al. 1989:179, 2000:85, Shameel and Tanaka 1992:39.

Morphological characters: Thallus flat, foliceous, up to 35 cm high 5.5 cm broad, thin, cuneate; sub-dichotomously to irregularly branched, dichotomy forming obtuse angle; margin bearing small dentation but not very common in lower part as well as in upper part very few dentation; proliferation initially found but present only on lateral segments; golden brown in colour but sometime turns into olive green in colour.

Cytological features: Thallus composed of 4-7 layers of cells; outer boundary i.e. peripheral part occupied by a single layer of squarish cells, arranged radially, 34-46(-68) µm long, 23-34 µm broad, having many phaeoplasts; medullary and cortical cells not differentiated, cells of small and large size arranged irregularly with large intercellular spaces, rectangular, squarish or polygonal in shape, (-23)46-57(-80) in length, (34-)80- 114 µm breadth; phaeophycotean hairs present in groups, found on both surfaces and distributed all over the thallus.

Reproductive structures: In the specimens collected from Karachi Coast sexual reproductive organs were not recorded. Thalli bore only asexual reproductive organs, found embedded in the peripheral part i.e. epidermal region, spherical to oblong in shape, scattered on both surfaces of the thallus; the stalk cells were not observed in these specimens. The asexual reproductive bodies i.e. tetrasporangia 68-102(-114) µm in length Aisha et al.: Taxonomy of the genus Spatoglossum in the coast of Karachi 35 and (57-)68-80 µm in breadth, sori scattered all over the thallus surface.

Growth: The growth in this species takes place by a group of marginal apical cells not by a single apical cell.

Type locality: Sri-Lanka.

Habitat ecology: The specimens were usually collected in the drifted condition, sometimes found growing in shady pools alongwith Dictyotalian members and some species of Sargassum C. Agardh.

Local distribution: Manora ( Leg. Aisha 12-12-1989, Leg. Nizamuddin 10-11-1992); Buleji ( Leg. Aisha 2-10-1989); Sandspit ( Leg. Aisha, 17-4-1994); Nathiagali ( Leg. Aisha 16-10-, 14-11- & 26-12-1989, 23-01-1991).

Geographical distribution: Andaman Islands, Arabian Coast, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nicobar Islands, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, The Philippines and Yemen.

Remarks: The specimens which have been collected from different localities of Karachi Coast appeared to be a Dictyotalian member and should have been placed in Spatoglossum Kützing because of having small spine like structures at margin in the upper as well as lower parts, anatomically it is composed of 4-7 layers of cells including small rectangular peripheral or epidermal cells, cortical and medullary cells not differentiated as in Spatoglossum variable Figari et De Notaris, and sexual reproductive organs were not present. These features resemble with the type description of Agardh (1894) and also with other descriptions about S. asperum (Børgesen 1935, Durairatnam 1961, Misra 1966). They also differed from other described species of Pakistan which included S. variabile and S. australasicum Kützing (Nizamuddin and Perveen 1986, Begum and Khatoon 1988). Although the internal structure of S. australasicum shows resemblance with them, also in morphology but differ in the presence of small spines at the margin. So, on the basis of above discussion these Dictyotalian specimens of Spatoglossum belong to the species S. asperum J. Agardh as was also described by Nizamuddin & Perveen (1986). 36 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 19(1&2), 2010.

2 cm

2 cm

Fig.1. Spatoglossum asperum J. Agardh: Herbarium specimen.

Aisha et al.: Taxonomy of the genus Spatoglossum in the coast of Karachi 37

Fig. 2. Spatoglossum asperum J. Agardh: a-c, Transverse sections of younger thalli; d and e, transverse sections of old thalli bearing tetrasporangia.

Spatoglossum schroederi Kützing 1859:21 Fig. 3,4(a-c)

Basionym: Zonaria schroederi C. Agardh 1824:265.

Synonyms: schroederi (C. Agardh) Greville 1830:13, Taonia schroederi (C.Agardh) J.Agardh 1848:102.

References: Agardh 1848:102, Taylor 1960:225, Joly 1965:82, Earle 1969:176, Begum and Khatoon 1988:299, Shameel and Tanaka 1992:39, Silva et al. 1996:609.

Morphological characters: Thallus erect, 10-14 cm high, flat, light to dark or golden brown in colour; plamate to sub-dichotomous lobes present; lobes or branches 8- 19 cm broad; margins smooth, rarely proliferated only at the base, very few dentation, surface also smooth.

Cytological features: Thallus composed of generally 2-4 layered structure, rarely 6- 7 layered; peripheral cells mostly rectangular in shape and radially arranged, 39-45 µm in length, 22-39(-45) µm in breadth, densely filled with phaeoplasts; cortical part 2-4 layered structure, consists of rectangular, squarish as well as polygonal cells, have less amount of phaeoplasts, 34-45(-56) µm long, (-22)56-68(-80) µm broad; phaeophycotean hairs not recorded.

Reproductive structures: The sexual reproductive organ were not recorded. The 38 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 19(1&2), 2010. asexual reproductive structures i.e. tetrasporangia were distributed on both surfaces of the thallus, spherical to oval in shaped, developed from peripheral cells, 466-607 µm in diameter.

Growth: The growth in this species takes place by a group of marginal apical cells.

Type locality: Brazil.

Habitat ecology: The specimens were usually collected in drifted condition.

Local distribution: Manora ( Leg. Aisha 11-11-1989); Paradise Point ( Leg. Aisha 23-1-1990).

Geographical distribution: Bahama, Brazil, Florida, Madagascar, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

Remarks: The specimens gathered from Manora and Paradise Point of Karachi Coast, have regular sub-dichotomy, very few dentations, basal but very rare proliferations make it different from Spatoglossum asperum J. Agardh and S. variabile Figari et De Notaris. It showed similarities with the description given by Taylor (1960), Joly (1965) and Earle (1969) about S. schroederi . The only difference is the presence of rare proliferations and few dentations, whereas the Mexican and American specimens have regular dentations and no proliferation. This species was reported earlier from Karachi by Begum and Khatoon (1988) and Shameel and Tanaka (1992) but a description, diagnosis and diagram were not provided by them. This is the first detailed study of this species.

Fig. 3. Spatoglossum schroederi (C. Agardh) Kützing: Herbarium specimen. Aisha et al.: Taxonomy of the genus Spatoglossum in the coast of Karachi 39

Fig. 4. Spatoglossum schroederi Kützing: a. Transverse section of a young thallus, b. transverse section of thallus with margin, c. transverse section of old thallus bearing tetrasporangia.

Spatoglossum variabile Figari et De Notaris 1853:158 Fig. 5,6 & 7 (a-f)

Synonym: Spatoglossum lubricum Figari et De Notaris 1853:28.

References: Figari and De Notaris 1853:158, Agardh 1894:36, Weber van Bosse 1913:181, Børgesen 1934:27, Aleem 1950:277, Misra 1966:159, 1967:233, Krishnamurthy and Joshi 1970:11, Nizamuddin and Gessner 1970:6, Nizamuddin and Perveen 1986:128, Shameel, 1987: 513, 2000:52, Shameel and Afaq-Husain 1987:295, Silva et al. 1987:79, 1996:609, Begum & Khatoon 1988:299, Shameel and Tanaka 1992:39, Shaikh and Shameel 1995:24,Shameel et al. 2000:85. 40 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 19(1&2), 2010.

Morphological characters: Thallus erect, up to 40 cm high, 1-5 cm wide; naturally dark brown in colour, but after half an hour of collection thalli turn into blackish green or sea-green in colour; attached with the help of a branched, filamentous, matted holdfast; thallus branched, foliaceous, flat, linear and membranous, surface rough; branches dichotomous to sub-dichotomous, form obtuse angle; proliferations are present, rarely on lateral margins, usually present at apical part of segments.

Cytological features: Thalli consist of 4-15 layers of cells; basal portion of thallus with much organized cellular arrangement: medullary part having two layers of cells of large size at the centre, on both sides of medullary cells rectangular cortical cells arranged in regular rows, peripheral part with small squarish cells, having dense phaeoplasts, 26-39 µm long, 39-65 µm broad; in the middle and upper parts of thallus cortical and medullary cells disorganized, polygonal in shape, small to large size, 39-65(- 78) µm in length, 39-104 µm in breadth, single layer of peripheral cells rectangular in shape and radially arranged on both surfaces, 26-52(-91) µm high, 26-39(-59) µm wide; cryptostomata present and distributed all over the surface of thallus; groups of phaeophycotean hairs also distributed on thallus surface, develop from cortical region. Reproductive structures: In the specimens collected in different seasons from various localities of Karachi Coast, sexual reproductive organs were not recorded. The asexual reproductive bodies i.e. tetrasporangia were embedded in the peripheral part and little part of cortex, tetrasporangia oblong to oval in shape, 78-91 µm in height and 39-91 µm in thickness.

Growth: The growth is characterised by a group of marginal initial cells which divide and re-divide and increase the thallus surface.

Syntype localities: Suez, Egypt; Akaba, Jordan.

Habitat ecology: The large specimens were usually found in the drifted condition, but it was also observed growing on fringe of rocks of shallow and shady pools, these pools are near high water mark. It grows in association with other members of brown algae like , and Sargassum variegatum.

Local distribution: Manora ( Leg. Aisha 11-11-&, 12-12-1989, 29-12-1990, 19-12- 1991, 27-10-1992, 6-4-1994, Leg. Nizamuddin 10-11-1992); Sandspit ( Leg. Aisha 17-4- 1994); Buleji ( Leg. Aisha 9-10-, 14-11-& 12-12-1989, 20-9-& 1-12-1990) Nathiagali (Leg. Aisha 16-10-1989, 14-11-1989, 23-1-1990).

Geographical distribution: India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.

Remarks: The specimens collected from different localities of Karachi Coast, belong to the genus Spatoglossum Kützing. They are characterized by having regular arrangement of medullary and cortical cells, middle part with two layers of large rectangular or somewhat barrel-shaped cells, cells of cortical region small rectangular and iso-diametric in size. This type of arrangement of cells is only present in the basal Aisha et al.: Taxonomy of the genus Spatoglossum in the coast of Karachi 41 portion, while in middle and upper parts cells are irregularly arranged and polygonal in shape. It is not differentiated into cortex and medullary regions in the upper and middle parts which is 5-6 layered, whereas basal part is 15 layered in thickness. From base to apex peripheral part is occupied by rectangular to squarish cells which were radially arranged, having dense phaeoplasts. Previously this species was studied by Nizamuddin and Perveen (1986) and Begum and Khatoon (1988) but they did not mention the regular arrangement of cells in the basal part, although this character was shown in the Fig. 3D of Nizamuddin and Perveen (1986). Present studies revealed that only that part of thallus which is just above the holdfast bears organized cell arrangement but its lower middle, middle and upper parts have disorganized arrangement of cortical cells without differentiation of cortex and medulla. These specimens were similar in all aspect with the type description as well as with the previously reported characters, so it was considered as Spatoglossum variabile Figari et De Notaris.

Fig. 5. Spatoglossum variabile Fiageri et De Notaris: Herbarium specimen.

42 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 19(1&2), 2010.

Fig. 6. Spatoglossum variabile Figari et De Notaris: a. Transverse section of thallus with a single apical cell, b-d. transverse sections of old thallus e. transverse section of thallus with sporangia. Aisha et al.: Taxonomy of the genus Spatoglossum in the coast of Karachi 43

Fig. 7. Spatoglossum variabile Figari et De Notaris: f. Transverse section of thallus (basal part) showing regular arrangement of two central and five to six pheripheral and radialy arranged cortical cells.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are extremely grateful to Late Dr. M. Nizamuddin for permitting us to examine his large collection of herbarium of specimens and for his many valuable suggestions given during the course of study.

REFERENCES

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