The unusual occurrence of green algal balls of Chaetomorpha linum on a beach in Sydney, Australia

Julia Cooke*, Robert Lanfear, Alison Downing, Michael R. Gillings, Alistair G B Poore, Ian D. Goodwin, Liette S. Waldron, Aaron Phillips, Yola Metti, Matthew W. Bulbert

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    7 Citations (Scopus)
    794 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    In spring 2014, thousands of green algal balls were washed up at Dee Why Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Reports of algal balls are uncommon in marine systems, and mass strandings on beaches are even more rare, sparking both public and scientific interest. We identified the algal masses as Chaetomorpha linum by using light microscopy and DNA sequencing. We characterize the size and composition of the balls from Dee Why Beach and compare them to previous records of marine algal balls. We describe the environmental conditions that could explain their appearance, given the ecophysiology of C. linum.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)401-407
    Number of pages7
    JournalBotanica Marina
    Volume58
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2015

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright de Gruyter 2015. Article originally published in Botanica marina, 58(5), pp. 401-407. The original article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/bot-2015-0061. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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