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FOULING ON EELGRASS ( ZOSTERA MARINA L.) 1
Author(s) -
Sieburth John McN.,
Thomas Cynthia D.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.1973.00046.x
Subject(s) - zostera marina , biology , botany , scutellum , detritus , ecology , seagrass , ecosystem , germination
SUMMARY The diatom Cocconeis scutellum (Meunier) colonizes the surface of young plants emerging from the mud in the spring and the usually emersed plant tips as they are knocked over and become immersed in the fall to form a virtually unialgal mat. Broken frustules and detritus adhere to form a crust which then becomes colonized nonselectively by a variety of microorganisms. Removal of the crust shows that the original “cobblestone” surface of the eelgrass is obscured with a layer of deformed cells of C. scutellum which appears to be impressed into the epithelium.