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Enteromorpha flexuosa (Wulfen) J.Agardh |
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Description: Plants cylindrical, hollow, to 25 cm high, either turgid or flexuose. Thallus tubular, with tube walls 1 cell thick. Axes 1-7 mm wide, simple, or branched only at or near the base. Cells in surface view usually arranged in longitudinal rows, 10-25 um in diameter. 1-2 (6) pyrenoids per cell. Introduction and Origin: Native to Hawaii. Hawaiian Distribution: Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands. Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Island. Habitat: High to mid intertidal, often in brackish water, attached to rocks in sandy areas. Environmental Effects: Not studied. May affect recruitment of other species by successfully competing for substrate. World Distribution: Type locality: Near Trieste (Italy). Worldwide in both temperate and tropical waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. British Columbia to Central America, the Caribbean to Uruguay. Mediterranean. In Southeast Asia: Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Ph Commercial Interests: None. Rate of Spread / Method: High growth rate. Propagates through motile, photosynthetic gametes and zoospores, and possibly by fragmentation. Factors likely to influence Spread and Distribution: Clearing of new, available substrata, low salinity, high nutrients availability. Reasons for Success: E. flexuosa is an excellent pioneer species, able to colonize newly available substrata year-round. Yet, it is not a good competitor with other successional species. The ecological success of E. flexuosa is in part attributed to the readily available pool of motile unicells that are able to rapidly colonize new areas. The chance for successful settlement of these cells is greatly enhanced because gametes and zoospores of this species remain viable for 10 or more days due to their ability to photosynthesize, often achieving photosynthetic rates approaching those of the adult thalli (Beach et al. 1995). Control Methods: None used. References: http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Entero_flexuo.htm Beach, K., Smith, C., Michael, T., Shiu (1995) Photosynthesis in reproductive unicells of Ulva fasciata and Enteromorpha flexuosa. Mar. Ecol. Progress Series 125:229-237. |
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