{"id":7629,"date":"2010-10-25T17:57:23","date_gmt":"2010-10-25T22:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=7629"},"modified":"2010-11-14T13:34:30","modified_gmt":"2010-11-14T18:34:30","slug":"nuisance-green-algae-bryopsis-found-in-sippican-harbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=7629","title":{"rendered":"Nuisance Green Algae (Bryopsis) Found in Sippican Harbor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Nuisance Green Algae (Bryopsis)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Turtle Journal regularly surveys the dock fouling\u00c2\u00a0flora and fauna\u00c2\u00a0in Sippican Harbor in search of new species and bio-invaders that may have moved into our local shoreline communities.\u00c2\u00a0 We were surprised this week to discover a nuisance green algae flourishing along the floating docks at Marion’s Town Landing in Sippican Harbor between Tabor Academy and Burr Brothers marina.\u00c2\u00a0 This lush green seaweed called Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0comes in two-dimensional Christmas tree shaped (pinnate) fronds.\u00c2\u00a0 What’s stunningly interesting about this species is that each two-to-six centimeter long\u00c2\u00a0“feather” is a singular unicellular<\/span> organism!<\/p>\n

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Marion Town Landing in Sippican Harbor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bryopsis sp.<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0ranges in protected shallow waters from tropical to temperate climes.\u00c2\u00a0 Frequently considered a nuisance species in the wild, Bryopsis<\/strong><\/em> was commonly used in aquariums and has been know to “escape” into the natural habitat and to overwhelm native species.\u00c2\u00a0 Its unique unicellular organization, combined with an ability for both sexual and asexual propagation, allows for rapid evolution and adaptation.\u00c2\u00a0 Species can change so rapidly that morphology (shape) alone cannot be used for identification.\u00c2\u00a0 Scientists opt for DNA analysis to differentiate species.<\/p>\n

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Bryopsis Proliferates along Sippican Docks<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many times each year, we stretch out on the floating docks along the west shore of Sippican Harbor to sample the fouling communities that have accumulated through the summer months.\u00c2\u00a0 The extent of vibrant green colors congregating just below the waterline immediately caught our attention.\u00c2\u00a0 Sue Wieber Nourse, who has been surveying and documenting Marion shoreline specimens for fifteen years, noted she had not seen this species in Sippican Harbor previously.\u00c2\u00a0 Yet, Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong> had proliferated all along the waterline of the town’s floating docks.\u00c2\u00a0 This nuisance green seaweed thrives in nutrient rich water containing elevated nitrogen levels, as has been reported in Sippican Harbor.<\/p>\n

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Bryopsis sp.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The specimen above illustrates the size and shape of the pinnate fronds, although the rhizoids of this organism are encased and hidden\u00c2\u00a0in a tunicate.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong> has been described as a beautiful feather-like siphonous green algae.\u00c2\u00a0 The “stem of the feather” (central axis) is called the thallus with symetrical fronds on either side.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Single Cell\u00c2\u00a0“Feather” of Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

From the specimen above, you can see that the fronds are bipinnate.\u00c2\u00a0 This “feather” represents one of the longer specimens we observed in Sippican Harbor\u00c2\u00a0at six to seven centimeters length.\u00c2\u00a0 A factor that allows for proliferation of Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0in the wild is the ability of this organism to produce a foul tasting and\u00c2\u00a0noxious protein that wards off predators.\u00c2\u00a0 It generally out-competes other algae and seaweed for space, light and nutrients.\u00c2\u00a0 Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong> is related to another nuisance green seaweed called Codium<\/em><\/strong>, which is a highly\u00c2\u00a0invasive species within the Massachusetts coastal community.<\/p>\n

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Bryopsis Rhizoids (Holdfast)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Examining Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong> from stem to stern, we reach the rhizoids (also know as its “Holdfast”) that anchors the algae to the dock and the fouling community.<\/p>\n

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Close-Up of Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This close-up photograph of Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong>, which can be enlarged by clicking, illustrates the unicellular nature of the species and the lack of cell walls within the thallus (body).\u00c2\u00a0 This unicellular aspect can become a vulnerability when the organism is injured and the cell wall is\u00c2\u00a0breached, yet Bryopsis<\/em><\/strong> sp.<\/strong><\/em> has evolved a way to heal itself when the membrane is punctured. Clotting agents (proteins)\u00c2\u00a0are released at the site of injury and within 15 – 20 minutes a healing, gelatinous envelope forms at site of injury.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Sippican Dock Fouling Community from October 2008<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Taking a look back in time at the same fouling community and the same floating docks from two years ago, we can clearly see that no Bryopsis sp.<\/em><\/strong> was observed in our October 2008 survey.\u00c2\u00a0 The source of this nuisance seaweed in Sippican Harbor can only be surmised.\u00c2\u00a0 Bryopsis sp.<\/em><\/strong> has been known in coastal Massachusetts.\u00c2\u00a0 Whether Sippican patches developed from an escaped local aquarium or lab, or whether\u00c2\u00a0they floated in with the tide is unknown and may never be known.\u00c2\u00a0 Turtle Journal will, however,\u00c2\u00a0continue to sample the Sippican shoreline to determine the extent of its presence in the estuary.<\/p>\n