[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)
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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
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