Caulerpa racemosa

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Caulerpa racemosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
(unranked): Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Ulvophyceae
Order: Bryopsidales
Family: Caulerpaceae
Genus: Caulerpa
Species:
C. racemosa
Binomial name
Caulerpa racemosa
Synonyms
  • Caulerpa clavifera (Turner) C.Agardh, 1817
  • Caulerpa feldmannii Rayss & Edelstein, 1960
  • Caulerpa racemosa var. clavifera (C. Agardh) Weber-van Bosse, 1909
  • Caulerpa racemosa var. uvifera (C. Agardh) J. Agardh, 1873
  • Caulerpa uvifera (Roth) C.Agardh, 1817
  • Chauvinia clavifera (Turner) Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1829
  • Fucus clavifer Turner, 1807
  • Fucus racemosus Forsskål, 1775
  • Fucus uvifer Turner, 1811[1]

Caulerpa racemosa is a

grapes. There are a number of different forms and varieties, and one that appeared in the Mediterranean Sea in 1990, which is giving cause for concern as an invasive species
.

Taxonomy

Oval sea grapes, var. clavifera, at 5 metres (16 ft) depth

There are about 75 species of Caulerpa. Many of them exhibit

phylogenetic relationships.[2][1]

Description

A plant of C. racemosa consists of a number of branches linked to

nuclei. The chloroplasts containing chlorophyll are free to migrate from any part of the organism to another and there is a network of fibrous proteins that helps movement of organelles.[4]

Distribution

Much-branched form

C. racemosa is widely distributed in shallow temperate and tropical seas. In 1926 a new form of the alga was reported off Tunisia, possibly an immigrant from the Red Sea, and this later spread to much of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In 1990, a new, larger form with two vertical rows of branches on opposite sides of the stem was found off Libya. It spread widely, invading much of the Mediterranean Sea and becoming more widespread than the invasive species, Caulerpa taxifolia. It is known as var. cylindracea and may have originated from Australian waters.[5] In America C. racemosa is found in shallow water in the Caribbean Sea, around Bermuda and along the eastern seaboard of America from Florida to Brazil.[3]

Biology

In the Mediterranean, growth begins in April when new stolons develop and erect branches start growing, and continue till December, after which the plants decline and become dormant.[6]

C. racemosa reproduces vegetatively by fragmentation. When pieces of the plant get broken off they develop into new plants. Small pieces of tissue only a few millimetres across are capable of doing this.[7]

C. racemosa can also reproduce sexually and in so doing exhibits

monoecious with male and female gametes being produced by the same plant and liberated into the water column where they unite to give spherical zygotes. These settle and after five weeks produce germ tubes which elongate and branch to develop into new plants.[8] Mass spawnings sometimes take place in the Caribbean Sea and normally do so just before dawn. There were 39 such mass spawnings during a period of 125 days and the days on which they took place showed no relation to the tidal or lunar cycles.[9] The gametes remain motile for about 60 minutes. Mass spawning is advantageous to the plant in increasing the chances of fertilisation. Underwater visibility can be reduced to less than one metre by the green cloud produced in the process.[10] Similar mass spawnings take place in the Mediterranean Sea causing a cloud of green gametes to be released in the water approximately 14 minutes before sunrise.[11]

Ecology

Caulerpa species contain secondary metabolites that are

Sarpa salpa were found to feed on the algae, as did the sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus and Sphaerechinus granularis. Other herbivores also grazed occasionally, but the total amount consumed was compensated for by the rapid growth of the plant and it was considered that these organisms were not likely to play a valuable role in bio-control of the plant.[6] C. taxifolia and C. racemosa show the great influence of substratum on their spatial distribution with a high colonization of the dead matte of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica[12]

C. racemosa and

Lessepsian migrants. Caulerpenyne content is lesser in C. racemosa than in C. taxifolia.[13]

Uses

Like the closely related

vitamin B1 while also being low in fat.[14]

In addition to the nutritional qualities of C. racemosa, it also has anti bacterial and anti-oxidant properties but these characteristics are not yet fully explored.

herpes.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskål) J.Agardh, 1873 World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2011-08-20.]
  2. ^ Overview of the Genus Caulerpa Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Proceedings of the International Caulerpa taxifolia Conference, 2002.
  3. ^ a b Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  4. ^ The Cell Biology of the Bryopsidales Retrieved 2011-08-18
  5. ^ On the identity and origin of the Mediterranean invasive Caulerpa racemosa (Caulerpales, Chlorophyta). Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  6. ^ a b Grazing on Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea (Caulerpales, Chlorophyta) in the Mediterranean Sea by herbivorous fishes and sea urchins. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  7. ^ Ceccherelli, G., L. Piazzi., 2001. Dispersal of Caulerpa racemosa fragments in the Mediterranean: lack of detachment time effect on Establishment. Bot. Mar. 44, 209-213.
  8. S2CID 19909752
    .
  9. S2CID 38126293
    .
  10. ^ Mass Spawning by Green Algae on Coral Reefs Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  11. doi:10.1016/S0399-1784(01)01142-2
    .
  12. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2010.11.005
    .
  13. S2CID 39266148
    .
  14. doi:10.18502/kls.v1i0.90
    .
  15. PMID 31533237
    .
  16. PMID 26415532
    .
  17. S2CID 222168633
    .
  18. PMID 32961907
    .
  19. PMID 15541745
    – via PubMed.
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