Ecological interactions on a rocky shore : the control of macroalgal distribution by intertidal grazers
- Authors: Whittington-Jones, Kevin John
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Limpets -- South Africa , Mollusks -- Ecology , Mollusks -- Feeding and feeds , Mollusks -- South Africa , Cryptogams , Cryptogams -- South Africa , Algae -- Control , Algae -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5665 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005350 , Limpets -- South Africa , Mollusks -- Ecology , Mollusks -- Feeding and feeds , Mollusks -- South Africa , Cryptogams , Cryptogams -- South Africa , Algae -- Control , Algae -- South Africa
- Description: The aim of the present study was to determine the potential impact of intertidal grazers on the distribution of macro algae on the south coast of South Africa. Particular attention was paid to the large patellid limpet, Patella oculus, which is found thoughout the intertidal zone. Studies of gut contents revealed that Patella oculus was capable of ingesting not only the thallus of foliose (eg. Ulva spp.) and encrusting coralline macroalgae, but also spores and diatoms. The inclusion of these relatively small particles in the diet was surprising, as electron micrographs of the radula of P.oculus revealed that it is typically docoglossan in structure. Such radulae are thought to be poorly suited for collecting small food particles. Sand made up a significantly higher proportion of the gut contents than other particles at all shore heights, which suggests that P.oculus might be capable of excavating the rocky substratum, or of sweeping up sand, while searching for food. Analysis of the gut contents of other local herbivorous molluscs, was also carried out. These species included the winkles, Oxystele variegata and O.sinensis, and the small pulmonate limpets, Siphonaria concinna, S.capensis, and S.serrata. The guts of all species contained mainly spores and diatoms, although small fragments of Ulva sp. were found. The population structure of Patella oculus was investigated at two sites, Cannon Rocks and Old Woman's River. At Cannon Rocks, mean shell length of low-shore animals was significantly lower than that of both mid- and high-shore animals, while at Old Woman's River, no significant difference was found among shore heights. A regression equation for In (shell length) vs In (dry weight) was calculated, and based on length data, the biomass density (g dry mass.m⁻²) of P.oculus at Old Woman's River was estimated. Values ranged from 2.8 on the low- and midshore to 0.37 on the high-shore. A manipulative field experiment was used to determine the impact of mesograzers and macrograzers (such as Patella oculus) on the distribution of intertidal macro algae on the mid- and low-shore at Old Woman's River. Grazers were excluded using mesh cages (mesh size = 3mm), in two separate experiments, one in winter and the other in spring. Percentage cover of macroalgal species and sessile invertebrates was estimated at approximately 6 week intervals for up to 3 months. MANOV A showed that treatments did not significantly affect cover of macroalgae or barnacles during winter. However, towards the end of the spring experiment (midshore only) cover of barnacles and green foliose turfs did increase in those plots from which mesograzers and/or macro grazers were excluded. The failure of the statistical tests to detect significant differences at some time intervals may have been caused by high levels of variation among replicates. This suggests that factors other than grazing are of overriding importance in determining the distribution of local macroalgae. The existence of a possible symbiotic relationship between Patella oculus and the red foliose alga, Gelidium pristoides, was investigated. The availability of various substratum types, including rock, limpet shells, barnacles etc., and the proportion of the total cover of G.pristoides on each, was calculated. It was shown that a significantly higher proportion of the alga grew on limpet shells, although the availability of this substratum type was low. It is thought that the aggressive behaviour of P.oculus prevents all but juvenile Patella longicosta from grazing on its shell, thus providing a refuge from grazing for G.pristoides.
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- Date Issued: 1998
Remote sensing of algae in inland southern African waters
- Authors: Quibell, G. E
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Algae -- Remote sensing , Algae -- South Africa , Freshwater algae -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5752 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005440 , Algae -- Remote sensing , Algae -- South Africa , Freshwater algae -- South Africa
- Description: Routine monitoring of algae in inland waters in southern Africa is a critical element in assessing the efficacy of eutrophication management options. Several authors have indicated that single point samples are not necessarily representative of conditions throughout the water body and some have suggested remote sensing as a means of overcoming this problem. Remote sensing of algae normally involves deriving the empirical relationship between radiance detected at a sensor, and contact sensed chlorophyll concentrations. Quantification of, or compensation for, contributions to the upwelling radiance other than that light reflected by the algae is critical for this approach. In southern Africa these contributions arise primarily from atmospheric effects and from scattering by sediments in the water. A review of the atmospheric correction models suggested that a cosine sun angle correction followed by dark pixel subtraction is the most feasible method to compensate for the former effects. Studies of the changes in upwelling radiance induced by addition of sediment to algal cultures indicated that subtraction of reflectance at ≈665nm from that at ≈700nm, may provide a means of compensating for the scattering by sediments. The disadvantage of this approach is that few sensor systems have narrow spectral bands centred at these wavelengths. Investigations of the nature of the reflectance from 5 algal species indicated that all had similar reflectance spectra, but the blue-green genera had a smaller peak at ≈650nm. Chlorophyll absorption at ≈665nm was evident by lower reflectance at this point, but the alga Microcystis sp. did not conform to the conceptual model of reflectance, in that reflectance at 665nm was higher at increased cell density. Spectra of natural waters confirmed the results obtained in the laboratory. Reflectance at ≈700nm showed the largest changes with increasing chlorophyll concentration and also had the highest correlations to chlorophyll concentrations. However, due to the strong absorption of these wavelengths by water, this reflectance peak only occurred when sufficient cells were found in the upper layers of water. Use of these wavelengths in remote sensing models should therefore be restricted to highly eutrophied waters. Although the reflectance spectra of different algae were similar, the amount of light scattered by each species (measured as turbidity) differed for any given chlorophyll concentration. This appeared to be due to the colonial nature of the cells and means that empirical models will be unique to the species on which they were developed. Comparisons of multispectral photography (MSP) and LANDSAT MSS imagery indicated the MSP data had higher correlations with chlorophyll concentrations than did the MSS data. Chlorophyll simulations from a test set of data using ordinary multiple regression showed that the MSP imagery had mean errors of 7.3M9/I, while that for the MSS imagery was 7.4M9/I. Similar tests using the canonical procedure produced larger mean errors of 9M9/I and 12M9/I for the MSP and MSS data respectively. This was due to the fact that the canonical procedure is not suitable for the spectral band widths of these sensors. In spite of similar simulation accuracies, the MSS imagery produced very patchy synoptic views. This was due to the lower variance (radiometric resolution) in the LANDSAT MSS data. This appears to be the most important criterion for accurate chlorophyll mapping in inland waters. Development of a single multidate algorithm for southern Africa is not yet feasible, and routine monitoring of chlorophyll using these techniques is impractical. However acceptable chlorophyll maps are possible if the model is recalibrated for each occasion and the sensor used has a high radiometric resolution.
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- Date Issued: 1992