The surface ultrastructure and epithallium shedding of crustose coralline algae in an ‘Isoyake’ area of southwestern Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

Data on the surface structures of crustose coralline algae have accumulated to some extent for the past twenty years. At the ultrastructural level, vegetative surfaces have been investigated by Gatbary (1978), Garbary & Scagel (1979), Garbary & Veltkamp (1980) and Garbary et al. (1981) and attempts have been made by them to use morphological features in distinguishing genera and species. The possibility that epithallial layers sloughed off was suggested for two species of Clathromorphum by Adey (1965) as its constant thickness was maintained in spite of the production of new epithallial cells from the meristem. Suneson (1982) reported that a delicate white calcareous film referable to the cover cells flaked off with attached blue-green algae from the surfaces of Dermatolithon litorale (Suneson) Hamel & Lemoine. On the other hand, Masaki et al. (1981) found that most germlings of Laminaria japonica Aresch.