The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library 12-2001 The Role of Water Motion in Algal Reproduction Richard Gordon Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of theOceanography Commons, and theTerrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Gordon, Richard, "The Role of Water Motion in Algal Reproduction" (2001).Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 147. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/147 This Open-Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. THE ROLE OF WATER MOTION IN ALGAL REPRODUCTION BY Richard Gordon B .S . University of Washington, 1997 A THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (in Marine Biology) The Graduate School The University of Maine December, 200 1 Advisory Committee: Susan Brawley, Professor of Plant Biology, Advisor Robert Vadas, Professor of Botany, Oceanography, and Zoology Philip Yund, Research Associate Professor of Marine Science THE ROLE OF WATER MOTION IN ALGAL REPRODUCTION By Richard Gordon -ThesisA dvisor: Dr. Susan Brawley An Abstract of the Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (in Marine Biology) December, 2001 Environmental conditions, such as water motion, can influence fertilization success and spore dispersal in marine algae. Previous studies on fucoid algae showed that gamete release is restricted to, or enhanced by, periods of low water motion. Few other algal taxa have been investigated, however, including species with an alternation of generations. I investigated gamete and spore release in the macroalgae Alaria esculenta and Ulva lactuca, as well as in the diatom Pseudo-nitachia multiseries to determine if water motion is inhibitory or stimulates propagule production and release. I used orbital shakers to simulate water motion; these were interspersed with stationary platforms within a walk-in culture chamber. Gamete and zoospore release (A. esculenta and U. Itrctuca) or gamete and zygote production (P. multiseries) were determined daily for several days. Alaria esculenta released a significantly higher number of zoospores under turbulent conditions (P = 0.0001, 2-way ANOVA) and a higher number of sperm under calm conditions (P = 0.0052, 2-way ANOVA). Juvenile A. esculenta sporophytes were present in significantly higher numbers in calm treatments (P = 0.001 2-way ANOVA; + contact time, male female gametophytes = 150 min). Turbulent conditions resulted in a significantly higher release of both gametes (P = 0.0021, 2-way ANOVA) and zoospores (P = 0.0028, 2-way ANOVA) in Ulva lactuca. Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries had significantly higher gametogenesis under calm conditions in one mating cross (P = 0.0055) but not in the other cross. A significantly higher number of zygotes were produced under calm conditions (P = 0.0001, 2-way ANOVA) in all crossed strains of P. multiseries. These data demonstrate that different algal taxa have varying reproductive responses to water motion. The results are of interest with respect to life-history adaptation and fertilization success. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to thank: Laura Pisconski for all her support. This project never would have been completed without her. Dr. Susan Brawley for research guidance, passing on her knowledge of the algae, and the financial support of her research grant from the National Science Foundation #IBN96-04848 that made this project possible. Dr. Robert Vadas and Dr. Philip Yund for their advice and assistance during this project. Dr. Stephen Bates for sharing his lab, providing Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries cultures, and advice. Dr. Joyce Longcore for providing assistance with microscopy and with digital photography. Lindsay Seward for providing excellent discussions on all topics related to this project, and otherwise. Christine O'Neill and Heidi Crahen for their tremendous assistance in the field and the lab. The National Science Foundation GK-12 Teaching Fellowship program, Maine Sea Grant, and the Association of Graduate Students for providing funding for the author, research expenses, and travel. The staff of the School of Marine Sciences and the Department of Biological Sciences for their assistance. The rest of the author's friends and family for their support and companionship. .. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS .. ........................................................................ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS n .................................................................................. LIST OF TABLES vi ... .............................................................................. LIST OF FIGURES vui Chapter . ...................................................... .............................................. 1 INTRODUCTION 1 . ............................................................................................... 2 A M AE SCULENTA 10 ............................................................................................................... Introduction 10 ............................................................................................. Materials and Methods 1 3 ................................................................................... Sporophyte Experiments 1 3 ................................................................. Zoospore Release 13 ' .................................................... Hydrodynamic Experiments 13 ................................................................................ Gametophyte Experiments 1 4 ................................. Cultures of Male and Female Gametophytes 14 ................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 1 1 7 ................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 2 22 .................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 3 22 .................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 4 23 .................................................................... Characterization of Water Velocity 24 ...................................................................................................................... Results 26 ................................................................................... Sporophyte Experiments 2 6 ................................................................ Zoospore Release 26 ... 111 ................................................... Hydrodynamic Experiments 2 6 ................................................................................. Gametophyte Experiments 29 ..................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 1 29 ..................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 2 32 ...................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 3 34 ..................................................... Gametophyte Experiment 4 36 ................................................................................................................ Discussion -40 . ..................................................................................................... 3 ULVA LACTUCA 44 ............................................................................................................... Introduction 44 .............................................................................................. Materials and Methods 49 ........................................................ Sporophyte and Gametophyte Experiments 49 ...................................................................... Gametophyte : Sporophyte Ratios 50 ............................................................................................. Neap Tide Release 51 .................................................................... Characterization of Water Velocity 51 ...................................................................................................................... Results 52 .................................................................................................... Spore Release 5 2 ................................................................................................. Gamete Release 53 ...................................................................... Gametophyte : Sporophyte Ratios 55 ............................................................................................. Neap Tide Release 56 ................................................................................................................. Discussion 58 . .................................................................... 4 PSEUDO-NITZTCHIA MULTISERIES 6 1 ............................................................................................................... Introduction 61 .............................................................................................. Materials and Methods 64 Effect of Water Motion .....................................................................................6. 4 Characterization of Water Velocity ....................................................................6 6 ...................................................................................................................... Results 70 ................................................................................ CLN- 14 X CLN-8 Crosses -70 ............................................................................... CLN- 14 X CLN-15 Crosses 75 ...................................................................................... Discussion -84 5 . CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................8 7 ......................................................................................................... BIBLIOGRAPHY 91 ................................................................................ BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR 99 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Hours after the onset of the light period before the fast observed zoospore ............................................................................................................ release 26 Table 2 . Two-way ANOVA table for Alaria esculenta mspore release ...................... 27 . ......................... Table 3 Fisher's Protected LSD for Alaria esculenta zoospore release 27 Table 4 . Gametophyte Experiment 1: Two-way ANOVA table for Alaria esculenta .................................................................................................. sperm release 29 Table 5 . Gametophyte Experiment 1. Two-way ANOVA table for Alaria esculenta ....................................................................................... juvenile sporophytes 31 Table 6 . Gametophyte Experiment 2: ANOVA table for AZaria esculenta sperm ........................................................................................................... release 32 Table 7 . Gametophyte Experiment 3: ANOVA table for Alaria esculenta sperm .......................................................................................................... release 34 Table 8. Gametophyte Experiment 4: ANOVA table for Alaria esculenta ................................................................................................ sperm release 3 6 Table 9 . Gametophyte Experiment 4: ANOVA table for Alaria esculenta ....................................................................................... juvenile sporophytes 36 Table 10. Two-way ANOVA table for Ulva lactuca zoospore release .................... 52 Table 11 . Two-way ANOVA table for Ulva lactuca gamete release ............................. 54 . ................................................................... Table 12 Gametophyte : sporophyte ratios 56 . Table 13 Origin and apical cell length of Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries clones used ......................................................................................... in the experiment 64 Table 14. Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries CLN-14 x CLN-8 mating cross: Two-way .......................................................................... ANOVA for gametogenesis .7 1 Table 15. Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries CLN-14 x CLN-8 mating cross: Two-way ...................................................................... ANOVA for zygote production 73 Table 16. Fertilization success for Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries CLN-14 x CLN-8 ............................................................................................. mating cross 75 Table 17. Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries CLN- 14 x CLN- 15 mating cross: Two-way .......................................................................... ANOVA for gametogenesis 77 Table 18. Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries CLN-14 x CLN- 15 mating cross: Two-way ...................................................................... ANOVA for zygote production 79 Table 19. Fertilization success for Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries CLN-14 x CLN-15 ................................................................................................. mating cross .81 Table 20. Day 4 vegetative cells, gametes and zygotes extrapolated to the entire 5 rnL ................................................................................. sample.. -82 vii