[Coral-List] Post Hurricane Algal Outbreak

Eugene Shinn eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu
Fri Oct 27 11:21:29 EDT 2017


After Hurricane Donna in 1960 we had an explosive bloom of /Chalmasia 
antillana/

in Florida Keys near shore areas. Commonly called Mermaids Wineglass 
this genus (family Dasycladaceae) looks like Acetabularia but is 
calcified. It produces tiny calcified spherical fruiting bodies. We had 
been puzzled by these calcispheres that that we had been identifying in 
thin sections of sediment in cores.We thought them important because 
similar fossils occur in Devonian age limestone. Hurricane Donna finally 
answered the question of what made them. In areas such as the foot deep 
water on Rodriguez Key bank Chalmasia was so think they were crowding 
out turtle grass beds. For more information go to 
<http://www.phycologia.org/doi/pdf/10.2216/i0031-8884-9-1-45.1?code=iphy-site>

The explosive bloom did not last long. We suspected the calcified 
spheres had been dormant, buried in the sediment and were suddenly 
released when the storm stirred up the sediment. I mention this so 
researchers can be watching to see if this happens again. Gene

-- 


No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158
---------------------------------- -----------------------------------



More information about the Coral-List mailing list