Dumontia contorta in Camus Glas
Observation - Dumontia contorta in Camus Glas - UK and Ireland. Description: I find this seaweed a slippery customer to identify. Although it is a red seaweed its colour can va
I find this seaweed a slippery customer to identify. Although it is a red seaweed its colour can vary from yellowish to purple, and the ones pictured are at the yellow end of the spectrum. The lead picture shows the seaweed when it is being subjected to wave action, where the it gives the impression of just being long thin strands. The samples shown in the later pictures show that this is an illusion, and the seaweed is in fact branched.
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The second picture shows another specimen in a sheltered area a few yards away, but this time the irregular branching structure can be seen. Interestingly some of the fronds are quite fuzzy with a filamentous epiphyte, and there was a lot of filamentous brown alga growing on other marine algae nearby. Interestingly enough the there was no evidence of the epiphyte on the sample taken from the specimen in the moving water. Does this suggest that seaweeds in more sheltered conditions are more likely to be hosts for epiphytes?
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The sample clearly shows the irregular branching typical of this marine alga, but of course the big question is, is it hollow. The answer is in the final photograph, where I managed to insert a copper wire into the tubular structure. It actually slides in rather easily because there is a sort of mucus within the tube. Anyway see https://www.seaweed.ie/descriptions/Dumontia_contorta.php for a description, and https://www.aphotomarine.com/red_seaweed_dumontia_contorta.html for photographs. This site is always worth a study for any seaweeds: https://www.outerhebridesalgae.uk/marine/marine-species.php?id=87.
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The second picture shows another specimen in a sheltered area a few yards away, but this time the irregular branching structure can be seen. Interestingly some of the fronds are quite fuzzy with a filamentous epiphyte, and there was a lot of filamentous brown alga growing on other marine algae nearby. Interestingly enough the there was no evidence of the epiphyte on the sample taken from the specimen in the moving water. Does this suggest that seaweeds in more sheltered conditions are more likely to be hosts for epiphytes?
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The sample clearly shows the irregular branching typical of this marine alga, but of course the big question is, is it hollow. The answer is in the final photograph, where I managed to insert a copper wire into the tubular structure. It actually slides in rather easily because there is a sort of mucus within the tube. Anyway see https://www.seaweed.ie/descriptions/Dumontia_contorta.php for a description, and https://www.aphotomarine.com/red_seaweed_dumontia_contorta.html for photographs. This site is always worth a study for any seaweeds: https://www.outerhebridesalgae.uk/marine/marine-species.php?id=87.
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