 |
|
|
||||
| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
Translate this page with 
Common Name: green alga, grass kelp, sea lettuce
Synonyms and Other Names: Ulva prolifera, Grass kelp
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: This green, filamentous, branched, monosiphonous, and benthic macroalga has hollow thalli with longitudinal rows of quadrangular to polygonal cells. Cells contain starch grains, large parietal chloroplasts, and vacuoles that reach up to 40% of cell volume (Holt 1980b; Young et al. 1984; Hadi et al. 1989; Blomster et al. 1998; Hayden et al. 2003). Fronds of E. prolifera are known to reach 18 cm–1 m long. Cells are around 8–18 μm long (Young et al. 1984; Ohno and Takahasi 1988; Hadi et al. 1989; Ohno et al. 1999).
Size: fronds to 1m
Native Range:
Unclear. E. prolifera is typically a marine species, known in North America from the coasts, inland salt springs, and western salt lakes (Catling and McKay 1980; Mills et al. 1993). It is known from various waters, generally brackish or salty, in Asia, Europe, and Central America (Grintal 1974; Polderman 1975; Riouall 1976; Markham and Munda 1977; Saifullah and Nizamuddin 1977; Kukk 1978; Partaly 1978; Holt 1980a; Hadi et al. 1989; Gazale and Morucci 1990, 1991; Wennberg 1992; Pacheco-Ruiz and Zertuche-Gonzalez 1996; Schories et al. 1997; Doroftei et al. 2001; Storelli et al. 2001; Han et al. 2002; Huh et al. 2004; Palomo et al. 2004; McClanahan et al. 2005; Yagci 2006; Yamaguchi et al. 2006).
| ||
 Alaska |
Hawaii |
Caribbean |
Interactive maps: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean
Nonindigenous Occurrences: E. prolifera was first recorded in 1979 near the Windsor Salt Factory in Ontario, which is part of the Lake St. Clair drainage (Catling and McKay 1980; Mills et al. 1993).
Ecology:
This edible crop species comprises different strains that are known to survive, grow, and reproduce in very low salinity (0.1–1‰), brackish, salty, or briny waters. E. prolifera has been recorded from a wide range of water temperatures but many strains prefer temperatures around 15–25°C and reach an upper critical limit at 30–34°C. E. prolifera grows well in eutrophic conditions, in which it sometimes can become a dominant benthic species. It can sometimes be limited by phosphorus (Ohno and Miyanoue 1980; Koeman and Van Den Hoek 1982; Soe-Htun et al. 1986; O’Brien and Wheeler 1987; Ohno and Takahasi 1988; Ohno et al. 1999; Dan et al. 2002; Palomo et al. 2004; McClanahan et al. 2005; Murase et al. 2005; Yagci 2006).
E. prolifera can exhibit different reproductive strategies. Some plants are sexual and produce biflagellate anisogametes and quadriflagellate meiospores, while others are asexual and can either produce biflagellate or quadriflagellate negatively phototactic zooids. Plants of different sexuality may not be morphologically distinct, and some populations comprise plants of mixed life histories while others do not. Zygotes can remain dormant for a year or more in female filaments of sexual plants. Different populations of E. prolifera frequently exhibit high genetic diversity because plants can reproduce sexually, are highly fecund, are perennials (allowing for the accumulation of diverse traits), and undergo a colonization process involving highly diverse propagules on which various selective forces act (Hirakoka et al. 2003; Huh et al. 2004).
E. prolifera is known to host gammarid amphipod species in a brackish lake in Japan (Yamaguchi et al. 2006). In European coastal waters it is the preferred surface for benthic diatom colonization in comparison to its congener E. intestinalis because it is monosiphonous and not broad and flattened in form (Holt 1980b).
Means of Introduction: Unknown, although E. prolifera was very likely introduced from the Atlantic coast of North America to the Great Lakes basin.
Status: The last record was from 1979 and it is unknown what the current status of the population is.
Impact of Introduction:
A) Realized: Unknown.
B) Potential: Scottish experiments indicate that dense mats of E. prolifera in intertidal sandflats could have detrimental effects for species depending on planktonic larval recruitment. Moreover, macrofaunal diversity under such mats may increase at first but subsequently decrease after a period of around 20 weeks (Bolam et al. 2000). In intertidal flats of the Wadden Sea, dense mats of E. prolifera and other Enteromorpha spp. have been associated with fewer occurrences of brown and red algae (Schories et al. 1997). In Spanish waters, this species, amongst others, is responsible for fouling intertidal oyster culture systems, although this problem can be partly controlled by periwinkle grazing (Cigarria et al. 1998). Finally, E. prolifera, amongst other species, has been responsible for green tides in waters off the coast of Washington (Waaland and Hayden 1998).
Remarks:
References
Blomster, J., C. A. Maggs, and M. J. Stanhope. 1998. Molecular and morphological analysis of Enteromorpha intestinalis and E. compressa (Chlorophyta) in the British Isles. Journal of Phycology 34:319-340.
Bolam, S. G., T. F. Fernandes, P. Read, and D. Raffaelli. 2000. Effects of macroalgal mats on intertidal sandflats: an experimental study. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 249(1):123-137.
Catling, P. M. and W. G. McKay. 1980. Halophytic plants in southern Ontario. Canadian Field Naturalist 94(3):248-258.
Cigarria, J., J. Fernandez, and L. P. Magadan. 1998. Feasibility of biological control of algal fouling in intertidal oyster culture using periwinkles. Journal of Shellfish Research 17(4):1167-1169.
Dan, A., M. Hiraoka, M. Ohno, and A. T. Critchley. 2002. Observations on the effect of salinity and photon fluence rate on the induction of sporulation and rhizoid formation in the green alga Enteromorpha prolifera (Muller) J. Agardh (Chlorophyta, Ulvales). Fisheries Science (Tokyo) 68(6):1182-1188.
Doroftei, E., D. Sava, A. Brezeanu, and M. Arcus. 2001. Macrophytic green algae along the Romanian Black Sea Coast: actual state, ultrastructure and in vitro cultivation. Phycologia 40(Supplement 4):69.
Gazale, V. and C. Morucci. 1990/1991. Aspects of benthic vegetal population of Porto Pozzo Lagoon, Sardinia. Bollettino della Societa’ Sarda di Scienze Naturali 28:179-190.
Grintal, A. R. 1974. Marine algae of the southwestern part of the Kara Sea, USSR. Novosti Sistematiki Nizshikh Rastenii 11:112-116.
Hadi, R., A. M. Hadi, K. M. Bahram, and A. A. S. Hassan. 1989. The new recorded species of Enteromorpha in Baghdad area, Iraq. Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum 8(2):163-172.
Han, L.-J., Z. Fan, and X.-J. Yan. 2002. The betaines from Chinese seaweeds. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology 20(1):97-100.
Hayden, H. S., J. Blomster, C. A. Maggs, P. C. Silva, M. J. Stanhope, and J. R. Waaland. 2003. Linnaeus was right all along: Ulva and Enteromorpha are not distinct genera. European Journal of Phycology 38:277-294.
Hiraoka, M., A. Dan, S. Shimada, M. Hagihira, M. Migita, and M. Ohno. 2003. Different life histories of Enteromorpha prolifera (Ulvales, Chlorophyta) from four rivers on Shikoku Island, Japan. Phycologia 42(3):275-284.
Holt, G. 1980a. A study of the flora of the land locked fjord Onna near Langangen, Telemark, southeastern Norway. Blyttia 38(2):73-80.
Holt, G. 1980b. Benthic diatoms on green algae in Norway and Faeroe Isles, Scotland, UK. Blyttia 38(1):9-18.
Huh, M. K., H. Y. Lee, B. K. Lee, and J. S. Choi. 2004. Genetic diversity and relationships between wild and cultivated populations of the sea lettuce, Enteromorpha prolifera, in Korea revealed by RAPID markers. Protistology 3(4):243-250.
Koeman, R. P. T. and C. Van Den Hoek. 1982. The taxonomy of Enteromorpha Chlorophyceae in the Netherlands. 2. The section Proliferae. Cryptogamie Algologie 3(1):37-70.
Kukk, K. H. A. 1978. Benthic vegetation of coastal waters of the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. Botanicheskii Zhurnal (St. Petersburg) 63(6):844-852.
Markham, J. W. and I. M. Munda. 1977. A find of Zostera marina at Helgoland Germany. Aquatic Botany 3(1):91-93.
McClanahan, T. R., R. S. Steneck, D. Pietri, B. Cokos, and S. Jones. 2005. Interaction between inorganic nutrients and organic matter in controlling coral reef communities in Glovers Reef, Belize. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50(5):566-575.
Mills, E. L., J. H. Leach, J. T. Carlton, and C. L. Secor. 1993. Exotic species in the Great Lakes: a history of biotic crises and anthropogenic introductions. Journal of Great Lakes Research 19(1):1-54.
Murase, N., H. Kito, Y. Fukumoto, M. Minami, H. Haraguchi, and A. Hirosawa. 2006. Growth, photosynthesis and respiration characteristics in a high temperature region of Enteromorpha prolifera. Journal of National Fisheries University 53(3):131-136.
O’Brien, M. C. and P. A. Wheeler. 1987. Short term uptake of nutrients by Enteromorpha prolifera Chlorophyceae. Journal of Phycology 23(4):547-556.
Ohno, M. and I. Takahashi. 1988. The horizontal and vertical distribution of the food alga Enteromorpha prolifera in Shimanto River, southern Japan. Reports of the Usa Marine Biological Institute, Kochi University 10:45-54.
Ohno, S. and K. Miyanoue. 1980. Ecology of the food alga Enteromorpha prolifera. Reports of the Usa Marine Biological Institute, Kochi University 2:11-18.
Ohno, M., S. Mizutani, S. Taino, and I. Takahashi. 1999. Ecology of the edible green alga Enteromorpha prolifera in Shimanto River, southern Japan. Bulletin of the Marine Sciences and Fisheries Kochi University 19:27-35.
Pacheco-Ruiz, I. and J. A. Zertuche-Gonzalez. 1996. Green algae (Chlorophyta) from Bahia de los Angeles, Gulf of California, Mexico. Botanica Marina 39(5):431-433.
Palomo, L., V. Clavero, J. J. Izquierdo, A. Aviles, J. Becerra, and F. Z. Niell. 2004. Influence of macrophytes on sediment phosphorus accumulation in a eutrophic estuary (Palmones River, Southern Spain). Aquatic Botany 80(2):103-113.
Partaly, E. M. 1978. Some ecological features of the Zoothamnium hentscheli (Peritrichia, Infusoria) a mass species of the micro overgrowth in the Sea of Azov. Zhurnal Obschchei Biologii 39(2):248-253.
Polderman, P. J. G. 1975. The algal communities of the northeastern part of the salt marsh De Mok on Texel, the Netherlands. Acta Botanica Neerlandica 24(5-6):361-378.
Riouall, R. 1976. Quantitative study of macrophytic algae of loose substratum from Prevost Pond, Herault, France. Naturalia Monspeliensia 26:73-94.
Saifullah, S. M. and M. Nizamuddin. 1977. Studies of the marine algae from Pakistan (Ulvales). Botanica Marina 20(8):521-536.
Schories, D., A. Albrecht, and H. Lotze. 1997. Historical changes and inventory of macroalgae from Koenigshafen Bay in the northern Wadden Sea. Helgolaender Meeresuntersuchungen 51(3):321-341.
Shoe-Htun, U., M. Ohno, and S. Mizuta. 1986. Effects of salinity and temperature on the growth of the green alga Enteromorpha prolifera in culture. Reports of the Usa Marine Biological Institute Kochi University 8:9-14.
Storelli, M. M., A. Storelli, and G. O. Marcotrigiano. 2001. Heavy metals in the aquatic environment of the southern Adriatic Sea, Italy: macroalgae, sediments and benthic species. Environment International 26(7-8):505-509.
Waaland, J. R. and H. S. Hayden. 1998. Green tide algae of the Padilla Bay Estuary, Washington. Journal of Phycology 34(Supplement 3):62.
Wennberg, T. 1992. Colonization and succession of macroalgae on a breakwater in Laholm Bay, a eutrophicated brackish water area, SW Sweden. Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 78:65-77.
Yagci, M. A. 2006. The macrobenthic algae of Beymelek Lagoon (Antalya-Turkey). Turkish Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences 6(2):137-147.
Yamaguchi, T., H. Ariyama, T. Mukai, and K. Yamaguchi. 2006. Gammaridian fauna on a red alga Gracilaria asiatica and a green alga Enteromorpha prolifera in a brackish lake, Nakaumi, western Honshu, Japan. Japanese Journal of Limnology 67(3):223-229.
Young, A. J., J. C. Collins, and G. Russell. 1984. Ultrastructural characterization of taxa in the genus Enteromorpha. Pp. 343-353 in D. E. G. Irvine and D. M. John (eds.) Systematics Association Special Volume No. 27. Systematics of the Green Algae. Academic Press Inc., Orlando, Florida. 449 pp.
Author: Rebekah M. Kipp
Contributing Agencies: 
NOAA - GLERL
Revision Date: 7/20/2007 Citation for this information:
Rebekah M. Kipp. 2009. Enteromorpha prolifera. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=2714> Revision Date: 7/20/2007
| AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices | |
  |
|