Using the ReefWatcher's field guide to native and alien Hawaiian algae published on the UH website, I identified the algae as of the genus Padina, however I am not quite sure which species it is. The most common species of Padina in Hawaii are the P. australis and P. japonica, and is sometimes referred to as "peacock's tail" because of its fan-like shape. Padina is a member of the class phaeophyceae, which is a class of brown algae. The peacock's tail alga is not harmful when eaten, however it can be dangerous when walking across rock, as the algae can get quite slippery.
This alga has no predators that we know of for sure right now, but most likely this alga is a part of herbivorous marine animals', like sea urchins, sea turtles, and small fish, diets. Extracts of this alga, and relatives, are used in certain medicines, shampoos, and skin lotions, and is claimed to aid in skin health and support bones and cartilage. However the FDA has not reputed these claims. A 2009 study also shows that extracts from this alga are very effective as fertilizers and may also work as an antifungal. The antifungal side of these algae is part of what makes this an effective fertilizer: because the extracts also work as antifungals, they are able to slow down the growth of fungi that may harm the plants.
Members of the padina family can be found in warm, tropical areas where the salinity is like that of the ocean, or brackish. However, there have been no studies to show the optimum growth temperatures and salinities of the water; they are guesses based on where padina algae have been found. They are found near the surface no more than 20m deep attached to seashell fragments, rocks, or mangrove roots, or found in sea grass beds, coral reefs, and tid...
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Works Cited
Cassidy, Keelin Owen. "Evaluating Algal Growth at Different Temperatures." Uknowledge.uky.edu. U of Kentucky, 2011. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. .
"Introduction to the Phaeophyta." Berkeley.edu. UCMP, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .
"Non-Flowering Plants." Biology.unm.edu. U of New Mexico, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. .
"Peacock's Tail Alga." Www.sms.si.edu. Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .
"ReefWatcher's Field Guide to Alien and Native Hawaiian Marine Algae." Hawaii.edu. UH, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .
Because of its size and abundance, T. californicus is commonly regarded as the insect of the sea. This creature is generally very small, from 1-3 mm in size as adults. They are cylindrically shaped, and have a segmented body (head, thorax, abdomen) though no noticeable division between body regions (Powlik 1966). Each segment of the body has a pair of legs. They use their 'legs' to propel themselves through the water in short rapid jerks. They have 2 pairs of long feathered antennae, a chitin us exoskeleton and a single eye in the middle of their head, this simple eye can only differentiate between light and dark.
We placed elodea plants into three different beakers and labelled them. Since, we are trying to find how temperature can affect the rate of production of carbon dioxide, we had to place them in different temperatures. So, we labelled the first beaker “Elodea heat” and placed it in a water bath that produced sufficient amount of heat. We labelled the second one “Elodea cool” which was placed in an ice bath filled with ice. The next one “Elodea RT” where the elodea was placed under normal room temperature without any interference. And we named the last one “No Elodea” where we placed no elodea in it and kept the beaker in a dark
...zebra mussel’s optimal temperature can effect their reproductive cycle. When the temperature of the water reaches about 13°C, the zebra mussels being their reproduction in Lake Erie. The eggs get fertilized when both the eggs and the sperm are released into the water, which then, develop into free-floating larvae called veligers. The larvae are carried by water currents, which allows them to expand their distribution. For about 10-15 days, the larvae are in the planktonic stage. After this stage, the veligers seek for a place of attachment and attach by using elastic fibers known as byssal threads. The point where mussels start to form their shells is known as the settling phase. If the temperature of the water is heated beyond their optimal temperature, then the zebra mussels will be under anaerobic conditions and will be halted from their process of reproduction.
Through standard curve, we know the relationship between absorbance and cell concentration is that the more absorbance the higher cell concentration. The data was measured by spectrophotometer which can be used to measure the concentration of a known chemical substance. The higher value of dada means that the higher concentration. At the same time, it means that the higher rate of growth. The table and graph directly reflect the relationship between temperature and speed of growth of Euglenas. The graph has shown a trend that first rise after falling. The sharpest change belong room temperature and the gentle change is that when Bioreactors in fridge. Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that when in room temperature (about 23) there is the fastest speed of growth. Excessive temperature will affect the growth of euglenas.
Hawaii is such a diverse and unique area that it is said to be a biologist’s paradise. Biologists travel here to study the wide variety of species and one such species is Aleurites moluccana or the kukui tree. The kukui tree is originally from Southeast Asia, particularly the Indo-Malaysia region, and has moved its way into the Pacific. It was first introduced to the Hawaiian islands when the Polynesians navigated their way here hundreds of years ago (Elevitch, C. R., & Manner, H. I., 2006). Since then, the kukui tree’s physical adaptations have helped it to thrive in Hawaii and native Hawaiians were able to utilize this plant in a number of ways.
The Artemia franciscana can survive in extreme conditions of salinity, water depth, and temperature (Biology 108 laboratory manual, 2010), but do A. franciscana prefer these conditions or do they simply cope with their surroundings? This experiment explored the extent of the A. franciscanas preference towards three major stimuli: light, temperature, and acidity. A. franciscana are able to endure extreme temperature ranges from 6 ̊ C to 40 ̊ C, however since their optimal temperature for breeding is about room temperature it can be inferred that the A. franciscana will prefer this over other temperatures (Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). This is much the same in regards to acidity as Artemia franciscana, in general thrive in saline lakes, can survive pH ranges between 7 and 10 with 8 being ideal for cysts(eggs) to hatch (Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). Based on this fact alone the tested A. franciscana should show preference to higher pH levels. In nature A. franciscana feed by scraping food, such as algae, of rocks and can be classified as a bottom feeder; with this said, A. franciscana are usually located in shallow waters. In respect to the preference of light intensity, A. franciscana can be hypothesized to respond to light erratically (Fox, 2001; Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). Using these predictions, and the results of the experimentation on the A. franciscana and stimuli, we will be able to determine their preference towards light, temperature, and pH.
The Great Barrier Reef is home to a remarkable number of organisms. The coral itself is made up of the skeletons of tiny, flowerlike water animals called polyps, held together by a limestone substance produced by a type of algae. Hundreds...
According to NOAA phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that continuously convert sunlight and nutrients into living tissue. Phytoplankton can be harmful to the bay because they at an uncontrollable rate causing harmful algae blooms when there is an abundance of nutrients. Phytoplankton also serve as the main food source for a larger but still microscopic organism named Zooplankton. Marine Bio.org did a study on zooplnkton revealing that they are very weak swimmers making them an easy food source for any larger organsim. Zooplanktons’ main purpose serves as the main food source for small fish and
Investigating the Effect of Temperature on the Fermentation of Yeast To fully investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of fermentation of yeast Background Information Yeast is a single-cell fungus, occurring in the soil and on plants, commonly used in the baking and alcohol industries. Every living thing requires energy to survive and through respiration, glucose is converted into energy. There are two types of respiration available to living cells are: 1.
Soft corals are grouped in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, and order Alcyonacea. Their distinguishing characteristic is that their polyps always bear eight tentacles which are on both edges fringed by rows of pinnules (Fabricius and De’ath, 2002). The common name “soft coral” comes from the fact that they have no massive external skeleton as compared to the more commonly studied hard corals.
The experiment measured the survival rate, the growth rate, and the size of the brine shrimp at the time harvested in various environments. To obtain these measurements, three environments were created: sea water, brackish water, and freshwater. For this experiment the scientists used 5 liter plastic buckets. Every two days, half of the water from each bucket was discarded and new water, of each respective salinity, was added into each bucket...
In this experiment, the variable that was changed was temperature. Temperature is one significant factor that affects the growth of bacteria. Each bacterial culture has its own minimal, maximal and optimal temperatures. Bacteria thrive at their optimum temperature and are only able to survive between their minimum and maximum temperatures. If the temperature is significantly higher than the maximum temperature, the bacteria will be destroyed and this process is irreversible.
Seagrass is on the decline around the world and it is an extremely vital marine ecosystem found in shallow water mainly distributed throughout tropical seas, from a temperature around 4oC to 24oC (Green and Short 2003). They are the only true flowering plant (angiosperm) to live in aquatic conditions providing support and shelter for vast amounts of species (Orth et al. 2006; Jackson et al. 2001). They are a marine aquatic plant and a keystone species for many coastal areas found all over the world (Libralato, Christensen and Pauly 2006). Although there is not a huge variety of species, there are only around 60 species globally and over 14% of them are endangered (Green and Short 2003; Orth et al. 2006). The different seagrass ecosystems perform relatively similarly throughout the varying species (Turner and Schwarz 2006). This study will examine the various importances of seagrass and to what extent they are vital for the survival of species within their ecosystem. In addition to this, the role of seagrass in important ecosystem processes will be examined. The abundance of coastal regions are closely linked with seagrasses as they greatly contribute to productivity. Seagrass meadows are highly productive and are ideal for nurseries and providing a relatively safe habitat and shelter from predators (Hughes et al. (2008).