DIVE DRY WITH DR. BILL #874: "HYPO" CHONDRIA
In grad school I studied the marine ecology of kelp forests. Almost all my research was about giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) even dating back to my daze of teaching marine biology at the "Toyon school" (Catalina Island School in the 60s and 70s. I was a certified phycologist (not to be confused with psychologist since kelp have a mind of their own). Of course being an ecologist, I wanted to get to know all of the estimated 800 species in the Kelp Kathedral.
Now divers and landlubbers often ask me about the various species they see in our waters. Almost always it is some fish or invertebrate. I'm not very good with marine mammals though. They're just ocean going milk lovers... and, like my marine biologist icon Edward F. "Doc" Ricketts of Cannery Row fame, I detest milk unless it comes in the form of a milk shake!
It is very rare that some asks me about an alga they have seen. However, there is one species I do get frequent questions about. It appears like stringy blue or purple puffs growing mainly on other algae. Such algae are called epiphytes (above + plant). Years ago I thought I knew what it was but recently I decided I was very unsure about its identity. I sent some images of it I had taken in previous years to my former lab mate, Dr. Dan Reed, and he suggested it might be a species in the genus Chondria but that I should send it to Dr. Kathy Ann Miller at the UC Berkeley herbarium.
Kathy got back to me quickly saying it was indeed Chondria acrorhizophora (formerly known as Chondria californica). In summer this species "blossoms" (okay, it has no flowers) covering the bottom with splashes of blue like some Claude Monet painting. I almost always see it attached to another alga rather than on rocks, although sources say it will. It is found in shallow waters from California to Baja and islands off the coast of Mexico and Central America. It has even been recorded as far south as Chile.
This red alga's structure is composed of very fine filaments which appear an iridescent blue underwater. The filaments are somewhat cylindrical and branch as they grow. Sources say it grows to a maximum height of four inches, but many of the ones in our dive park are longer than that. Sadly it has no interesting sex life to regale my libidinous and licentious readers with. Sorry.
My copy of Abbott and Hollenberg's Marine Algae of California had little of interest to add. It mainly described the species in technical terms that only a dedicated phycologist would appreciate. I'll leave all that to the taxonomists and simply enjoy the beauty of this alga in our waters. See, I do have an artistic side after all!
© 2020 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of over 850 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Chondria individual "plants; Chondria covering much of the bottom and Chondria epiphytic on another alga.
In grad school I studied the marine ecology of kelp forests. Almost all my research was about giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) even dating back to my daze of teaching marine biology at the "Toyon school" (Catalina Island School in the 60s and 70s. I was a certified phycologist (not to be confused with psychologist since kelp have a mind of their own). Of course being an ecologist, I wanted to get to know all of the estimated 800 species in the Kelp Kathedral.
Now divers and landlubbers often ask me about the various species they see in our waters. Almost always it is some fish or invertebrate. I'm not very good with marine mammals though. They're just ocean going milk lovers... and, like my marine biologist icon Edward F. "Doc" Ricketts of Cannery Row fame, I detest milk unless it comes in the form of a milk shake!
It is very rare that some asks me about an alga they have seen. However, there is one species I do get frequent questions about. It appears like stringy blue or purple puffs growing mainly on other algae. Such algae are called epiphytes (above + plant). Years ago I thought I knew what it was but recently I decided I was very unsure about its identity. I sent some images of it I had taken in previous years to my former lab mate, Dr. Dan Reed, and he suggested it might be a species in the genus Chondria but that I should send it to Dr. Kathy Ann Miller at the UC Berkeley herbarium.
Kathy got back to me quickly saying it was indeed Chondria acrorhizophora (formerly known as Chondria californica). In summer this species "blossoms" (okay, it has no flowers) covering the bottom with splashes of blue like some Claude Monet painting. I almost always see it attached to another alga rather than on rocks, although sources say it will. It is found in shallow waters from California to Baja and islands off the coast of Mexico and Central America. It has even been recorded as far south as Chile.
This red alga's structure is composed of very fine filaments which appear an iridescent blue underwater. The filaments are somewhat cylindrical and branch as they grow. Sources say it grows to a maximum height of four inches, but many of the ones in our dive park are longer than that. Sadly it has no interesting sex life to regale my libidinous and licentious readers with. Sorry.
My copy of Abbott and Hollenberg's Marine Algae of California had little of interest to add. It mainly described the species in technical terms that only a dedicated phycologist would appreciate. I'll leave all that to the taxonomists and simply enjoy the beauty of this alga in our waters. See, I do have an artistic side after all!
© 2020 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of over 850 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Chondria individual "plants; Chondria covering much of the bottom and Chondria epiphytic on another alga.
