Environment and Ecology Research Vol. 5(3), pp. 212 - 219
DOI: 10.13189/eer.2017.050306
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Epiphytic Microalgal Species Composition and Dynamics on Host Green Seaweeds (Ulvaphyceae) on the Northern Coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia


Salim Marzoog Al-Harbi *
Department of Marine Biology, College of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Epiphytic microalgae on seaweeds are sessile microscopic plants grown with attached or associated to seaweeds hosts and seaweeds are multicellular and macroscopic macro-algae, which are abundant in intertidal zones of coastal environments. Study on epiphytic microalgae is rare at Jeddah coast of the Red Sea. Thus, an investigation on epiphytic microalgae species composition and dynamics on seaweeds of Ulvaphyceae was carried out at northern coast of Jeddah, the Red Sea. The Red Sea is narrow oceanic basin which is lying between the African and the Asian continental shelves. During the study, 3 species of seaweeds were recorded in Ulvaphyceae which were Chaetomorpha linum, Enteromorpha intestinalis and Ulva lactuca. A total of 70 epiphytic microalgae were identified, including 63 belong to Bacillariophyceae, 5 belong to Cyanophyceae and 2 belong to Dinophyceae. Among the identified epiphytic microalgae of the host seaweeds of Ulvaphyceae, the percent contribution of epiphytic Bacillariophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Dinophyceae were 91.53, 6.55 and 2.61%, respectively. The cell abundance of epiphytes on host seaweeds of Ulvaphyceae varied from 8.00 to 93.00 cells/ cells/100 g of Ulvaphyceae seaweeds. The highest cell abundance was in spring and the lowest was in summer. On host seaweeds of Ulvaphyceae, the epiphytes of Licmophora abbreviata, Gyrosigma fasciola, Leptocylindrus danicus, Navicula distans, Navicula transitans, Pleurosigma angulatum and Pleurosigma normanii, Thalassionema frauenfeldii and Nitzschia hungarica were above 10% among epiphytic microalgae though Amphora spp., and Cocconeis spp., were found throughout the year. This finding could be the important source for future explanation of marine epiphytes and their host seaweed eco-biogeographical phenomena in the Red Sea.

KEYWORDS
Seaweeds Ulvaphyceae, Epiphytic Microalgae, Seasonal Dynamics, Environmental Factors, Northern Jeddah Coast

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Salim Marzoog Al-Harbi , "Epiphytic Microalgal Species Composition and Dynamics on Host Green Seaweeds (Ulvaphyceae) on the Northern Coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia," Environment and Ecology Research, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 212 - 219, 2017. DOI: 10.13189/eer.2017.050306.

(b). APA Format:
Salim Marzoog Al-Harbi (2017). Epiphytic Microalgal Species Composition and Dynamics on Host Green Seaweeds (Ulvaphyceae) on the Northern Coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Environment and Ecology Research, 5(3), 212 - 219. DOI: 10.13189/eer.2017.050306.