View Full Version : Micro or macro ?
Is filamentous algae, micro or macro algae. Seems to me that it's micro algae that reproduces laterally, but countless times posts have been sidelined because it doesn't apply to macroalgae. Surely macro algae has holdfasts, thallus, fronds etc, whereas hair algae has none of these.
Amphiprion
02-19-2013, 03:14 PM
The main ones we deal with are microalgae. They are a linear assemblage of cells compared to the unicellular, multinucleate forms of algae like Caulerpa. Other algae are multicellular and colonial, but don't achieve the same efficiency as filamentous forms.
So, as I suggested, the algae we grow on our screens are micro, not macro. Cheers Amphiprion
Ace25
02-19-2013, 04:23 PM
So is Bryopsis corticulans a macro or micro algae? That is the type I can't get out of my display. It is the 'fern' or 'feather' algae.
According to my google search it seems like it fits the 'macro' definition.
Like its close relatives, Codium and Caulerpa, this siphonous green alga is actually one huge multinucleate cell. Like Caulerpa, Bryopsis produces chemicals which are distasteful to many herbivores.
Amphiprion
02-19-2013, 05:33 PM
Lol, it gets tricky, because the terms don't necessarily always imply relatedness. Bryopsis would more closely be a filamentous (or siphonous) macroalga, as is implied in your quote. Common Derbesia would be the same, technically.
On the other end of the spectrum, many scientists refer to filamentous algae separately from micro- and macroalgae. It's a bit confusing, really, but the filamentous types I've looked at on scrubbers (at least mine) under a microscope are filamentous "micro"algae. It really just boils down to growth form in the end, though, and the terms aren't 100% precise.
SantaMonica
02-19-2013, 05:37 PM
It handy to refer to attached growth at "macro", and phyto as "micro", even though microalgae can attach.
It handy to refer to attached growth at "macro", and phyto as "micro", even though microalgae can attach.
So, this thread - http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?2321-Marine-Allelopathy
does actually apply to our systems.
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