Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, Vol. 36

468 Pages·1998·28.37 MB·English

by  Alan Ansell (Editor)

OCEANOGRAPHY
and
MARINE BIOLOGY

AN ANNUAL REVIEW
Volume 36

OCEANOGRAPHY
and
MARINE BIOLOGY

AN ANNUAL REVIEW
Volume 36
Editors
A.D.Ansell
R.N.Gibson
Margaret Barnes
The Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory
Oban, Argyll, Scotland
Founded by Harold Barnes
© A.D.Ansell, R.N.Gibson and Margaret Barnes, 1998
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.

First published in 1998 by UCL Press
UCL Press Limited
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London EC4A 3DE
UK
and
325 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia
PA 19106
USA

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.

The name of University College London (UCL) is a registered trade mark used by
UCL Press with the consent of the owner.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
are available.

ISBN 0-203-50252-3 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-45506-1 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN:
1-85728-984-6 HB
CONTENTS

Preface vii
Ecology of the green macroalga Codium fragile (Suringar)
Hariot 1889: invasive and non-invasive subspecies 1
Cynthia D.Trowbridge
Coral/seaweed competition and the control of reef community
structure within and between latitudes 65
Margaret Wohlenberg Miller
Ecological impact of green macroalgal blooms 97
David G.Raffaelli, John A.Raven & Lynda J.Poole
The impact of dredging works in coastal waters: a review of the
sensitivity to disturbance and subsequent recovery of biological
resources on the sea bed 127
R.C.Newell, L.J.Seiderer & D.R.Hitchcock
Obelia (Cnidaria, Medusozoa, Hydrozoa): phenomenon, aspects
of investigations, perspectives for utilization 179
S.D.Stepanjants
Symbiotic polychaetes: review of known species 217
D.Martin & T.A.Britayev
Cephalopod eggs and egg masses 341
Sigurd v. Boletzky
The ecological implications of small body size among coral-reef
fishes 373
Philip L.Munday & Geoffrey P.Jones
Author index 413
Systematic index 437
Subject index 453

v

PREFACE

Volume 36 of this series of annual reviews contains eight articles with authors
contributing from six countries. It is particularly gratifying that these include two
contributions from Russian institutions since much Russian literature remains relatively
inaccessible. This year’s volume lacks a contribution in physical oceanography, but
covers both botanical and zoological interests, while two reviews deal in part with
interactions between algal and animal communities. There is some emphasis on the
effects of natural and man-made disturbances, including the spread of introduced species
and the effects of eutrophication and aggregate dredging. Aspects of coral reef
communities are explored in two reviews and others deal with symbiosis among the
polychaetes and with the eggs and egg masses of cephalopods.
The year has seen our new relationship with publishers Taylor & Francis move to a
more settled phase after some initial teething problems. We are grateful to all members of
their staff who have contributed to this smooth transition. Editorial policy remains one of
maintaining a high standard of authoritative review, both by soliciting articles on subjects
that appear ready for such treatment and by accepting suitable reviews that are offered to
us. Suggestions of possible subjects from the marine science community are always
welcome. We are, as always, grateful to our contributors for agreeing to prepare such
comprehensive reviews and for their cooperation and patience in dealing with editorial
comments and queries.
vii

Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 1998, 36, 1–64
© A.D.Ansell, R.N.Gibson and Margaret Barnes, Editors
UCL Press
ECOLOGY OF THE GREEN MACROALGA
CODIUM FRAGILE (SURINGAR)
HARIOT 1889:
INVASIVE AND NON-INVASIVE SUBSPECIES
CYNTHIA D.TROWBRIDGE
Gatty Marine Laboratory, School of Environmental & Evolutionary Biology,
University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, Scotland
and Department of Zoology, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University,
Newport, OR 97365, USA
Abstract The large, green, branching macroalga Codium fragile (Suringar) Hariot 1889
(Chlorophyta: Codiaceae) is one of the most abundant and widespread species in the
morphologically and taxonomically diverse genus of Codium. Six distinct subspecies of C.
fragile have been recognized, in addition to morphologically heterogeneous populations (with
no subspecific name) on temperate and boreal shores throughout the world. Three of the
subspecies appear to occur primarily as introduced forms: ssp. atlanticum and ssp. tomentosoides
originated from Japan and ssp. scandinavicum originated from Siberia. Ssp. tomentosoides is
one of the most invasive seaweeds in the world, with extensive transoceanic and interoceanic
spread this century; the alga is a serious ecological and economic pest on NW Atlantic shores.
Despite the high abundance and broad distribution of C. fragile, a disproportionate amount of
study has focused on ssp. tomentosoides, in a narrow part of its invaded range, namely NW
Atlantic shores; results from this region are not necessarily applicable to the alga in other
temperate and boreal regions. Furthermore, much of the work on ssp. tomentosoides is unrelated
to the invasion ecology of this alga, and many authors remain unaware of its exotic origins. In
this review, I examine the ecological differences among and within subspecies and evaluate
their relative invasiveness. Variation among subspecies of C. fragile occurs in the following
attributes: (a) sexual reproduction v. parthenogenesis, (b) apparent ploidy level of the macroscopic
adult thallus, (c) salinity tolerance, and (d) thallus buoyancy in terms both of tissue density and
propensity to trap gases. There is little reported evidence, however, that subspecies vary
substantially in length of their reproductive period, growth, phenology, vegetative propagation,
physiological ecology, herbivore palatability, competitive ability, host-epiphyte interactions,
or natural products production. Comparative studies are needed to understand the variable
invasiveness of the three introduced subspecies and the non-invasiveness of indigenous forms
as well as geographic variation in ecological attributes of ssp. tomentosoides.
Introduction
The green macroalgal genus Codium (Chlorophyta: Codiaceae) contains about 100 described
species, making it one of the most diverse genera of marine algae (Silva 1992). The most
abundant and widely distributed species in the genus is C. fragile (Suringar) Hariot, generally
known as sea staghorn, oyster thief, or dead man’s fingers (Table 1). This species has a pan-
temperate, bipolar, and antarctic circumpolar distribution (Silva & Womersley 1956, Silva
1