A Biological Study of Fucus Vesiculosus L. and F. Serratus L.
- 1 September 1950
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
- Vol. 29 (2) , 439-514
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400055454
Abstract
A certain variation in level of the fucoid zone with latitude is demonstrated. The belt of Fucus vesiculosus and F. serratus lies lower on the Devon coast than on either the Manx or the Argyll coast.The conditions for the optimum germination of fertilized eggs are dissimilar to those for maximum rate of frond-extension.Normal growth-rates have been established for both species for the first 3 years of life. In F. vesiculosus the average rate of elongation per week is 0·48 cm. on the Devon coast, 0·45 cm. on the Manx coast and 0·68 cm. on the Argyll coast. In F. serratus the average rate of elongation per week is 0·49 cm. on the Devon coast, 0·68 cm. on the Manx coast and 0·85 cm. on the Argyll coast. The rate of growth is shown to vary with the conditions of the environment. Shelter from rough water tends to enhance growth-rate, and there is an indication that greater stature is achieved by the plants from the Argyll station than from either of the other stations.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Intertidal Ecology of Selected Localities in the Plymouth NeighbourhoodJournal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1947
- The Nature of the Intertidal Zonation of Plants and AnimalsJournal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1932