Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Genetic structure of asexually reproducing Enteromorpha linza (Ulvales: Chlorophyta) in Long Island Sound

  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Thirteen asexually reproducing clones of Enteromorpha linza were found in samples collected from March to September 1982 in Long Island Sound, USA, based on variation at five enzyme loci. Significant differences in the relative frequency of each clone were observed among samples from 16 localities. There was a tendency for localities at the eastern end of the Sound to form a group genetically differentiated from localities at the western end, but in general there was no strong relationship between geographic distance and genetic distance. Areas separated by only a few hundred meters were genetically differentiated, despite the presence of a dispersing spore stage in this species. Samples from areas of low salinity were genetically similar but distinct from adjacent high salinity areas. One clone restricted to high salinity localities and one associated with low salinity localities were tested for growth under high and low salinity conditions in the laboratory. The clone from the high salinity habitat grew more slowly under low salinity conditions. However, there was no evidence for a detrimental effect of high salinity on the low salinity associated clone. Additional environmental factors, as well as biological factors such as limited recruitment and competitive interactions among clones, may also be important determinants of genetic differentiation among populations of E. linza. Temporal shifts in clone frequency were observed within some localities and may be due to seasonal-dependent regeneration from microscopic holdfasts for different clones or a seasonal recruitment of new clones from other areas. The pattern of differentiation among populations of E. linza in Long Island Sound appears to be maintained by factors operating on a microgeographic scale.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

  • Amsler, C. D. and R. B. Searles: Vertical distribution of seaweed spores in a water column offshore of North Carolina. J. Phycol. 16, 617–619 (1980)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. K. and W. J. North: In situ studies of spore production and dispersal in the giant kelp, Macrocystis. Proc. int. Seaweed Symp. 5, 73–86 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Archie, J., C. Simon and D. Wartenberg: Geographical patterns and population structure in periodical cicadas based on spatial analysis of allozyme frequencies. Evolution 39, 1261–1274 (1985)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, E.: Gene-enzyme variation in three sympatric species of Littorina. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 145, 83–90 (1973)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, R. and M. S. Johnson: Asexual viviparity and population genetics of Actinia tenebrosa. Mar. Biol. 53, 27–31 (1979)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, R.: Protein polymorphisms and genetic differentiation of marine invertebrate populations. Mar. Biol. Lett. 4, 193–206 (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheney, D. P.: Electrophoresis. In: Handbook of phycological methods: ecological methods for macroalgae, Vol. IV. pp 87–119. Ed. by M. Littler and D. Littler. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1986

    Google Scholar 

  • Dayton, P. K.: Dispersion, dispersal and persistence of the annual intertidal alga Postelsia palmaeformis Ruprecht. Ecology 54, 433–438 (1973)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, P. S.: Perennation, vegetative propagation and algal life histories with special reference to Asparagopsis and other Rhodophyta. Bot. Gothoburg 3, 67–74 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellstrand, N. C. and D. A. Levin: Genotypic diversity in Oenothera laciniata (Onagraceae), a permanent translocation heterozygote. Evolution 36, 63–69 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gooch, J. L.: Mechanisms of evolution and population genetics. In: Marine ecology, Vol. II, part 1, pp 349–409. Ed. by O. Kinne. London: J. Wiley 1975

    Google Scholar 

  • Gower, J. C.: Some distance properties of latent roots and vector methods used in multivariate analysis. Biometrika 53, 325–338 (1966)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hebert, P. D. N. and T. Crease: Clonal diversity in populations of Daphnia pulex reproducing by obligate parthenogenesis. Heredity 51, 353–369 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedrick, P. W.: A new approach to measuring genetic similarity. Evolution 25, 276–280 (1971)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedrick, P. W.: Genetic similarity and distance: comments and comparisons. Evolution 29, 362–366 (1975)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Innes, D. J.: Genetic differentiation among populations of marine algae. Helgoländer Meeresunters. 38, 401–417 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Innes, D. J. and C. Yarish: Genetic evidence for the occurrence of asexual reproduction in populations of Enteromorpha linza (L.) J. Ag. (Chlorophyta, Ulvales) from Long Island Sound. Phycologia 23, 311–320 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W. E. and M. S. Babb: The motile period of swarmers of Enteromorpha intestinalis (L.) Link. Br. Phycol. Bull. 3, 525–528 (1968)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karlin, A. A., S. I. Guttman and S. L. Rathburn: Spatial autocorrelation analysis of heterozygosity and geographic distribution in populations of Desmognathes fuscus (Amphibia: Plethodontidae). Copeia 1984, 343–356 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koehn, R. K., R. I. E. Newell and F. Immermann: Maintenance of an aminopeptidase allele frequency cline by natural selection. Proc. natl Acad. Sci. USA 77, 5385–5389 (1980)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, D. A.: Genetic heterozygosity and protein polymorphism among local populations of Oenothera biennis. Genetics 79, 477–491 (1975)

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, D. A. and W. L. Crepet: Genetic variation in Lycopodium lucidulum: a phylogenetic relic. Evolution 27, 622–632 (1973)

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lubchenco, J.: Plant species diversity in a marine intertidal community: importance of herbivore food preference and algal competitive abilities. Am. Nat. 112, 23–39 (1978)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malinowski, K. C.: Codium fragile: the ecology and population biology of a colonizing species, 135 pp. Ph. D. dissertation. Yale University, New Haven, CT 1974

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathieson, A. C.: Vertical distribution and longevity of subtidal seaweeds in northern New England, U.S.A. Bot. mar. 30, 511–520 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan, J.: Growth media — marine. In: Handbook of phycological methods: culture methods and growth measurements, Vol. I, pp 25–51. Ed. by J. R. Stein. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1973

    Google Scholar 

  • Miura, W., Y. Fujio and S. Suto: Genetic differentiation between the wild and cultured populations of Porphyra yezoensis. Tohoku J. agric. Res. 30, 1250–1256 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Paine, R. T.: Disaster, catastrophe, and local persistence of the sea palm Postelsia palmaeformis. Science, Wash. D.C. 205, 685–687 (1979)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rohlf, F. J. and R. R. Sokal: Statistical tables, 2nd ed., 219 pp. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co. 1981

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, R. H. and G. Russell: Adaptation to salinity stress in populations of Enteromorpha intestinalis (L.) Link. Estuar. cstl mar. Sci. 8, 251–258 (1979)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, C. W., M. M. Suyemoto and C. Yarish: An annotated checklist of Connecticut seaweeds. Conn. Geolog. nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 108, 1–20 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Shick, J. M. and A. N. Lamb: Asexual reproduction and genetic population structure in the colonizing anemone Haliplanella luciae. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 153, 604–617 (1977)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva, M. W. R. N. de: An experimental approach to the taxonomy of the genus Enteromorpha (L.) Link, 226 pp. Ph.D. dissertation. Liverpool: University of Liverpool 1969

    Google Scholar 

  • Sneath, P. H. A. and R. R. Sokal: Numerical taxonomy, 573 pp. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co. 1973

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R. and N. L. Oden: Spatial autocorrelation in biology. 1. Methodology. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 10, 199–228 (1978a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R. and N. L. Oden: Spatial autocorrelation in biology. 2. Some biological implications and four applications of evolutionary and ecological interest. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 10, 229–249 (1978b)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf: Biometry, 2nd ed., 859 pp. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co. 1981

    Google Scholar 

  • Solbrig, O. T. and B. B. Simpson: Components of regulation of a population of dandelions in Michigan. J. Ecol. 62, 473–486 (1974)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorson, G.: Reproduction and larval ecology of marine bottom invertebrates. Biol. Rev. 25, 1–45 (1950)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zechman, F. W. and A. C. Mathieson: The distribution of seaweed propagules in estuarine, coastal and offshore waters of New Hampshire, U.S.A. Bot. mar. 28, 283–294 (1985)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. D. J. Innes

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Windsor, N9B 3P4, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York, 11794, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    D. J. Innes

Authors
  1. D. J. Innes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Communicated by R. W. Doyle, Halifax

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Innes, D.J. Genetic structure of asexually reproducing Enteromorpha linza (Ulvales: Chlorophyta) in Long Island Sound. Mar. Biol. 94, 459–467 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428253

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428253

Keywords

Search

Navigation