Cladophora catenata (L.) Kütz. emend. Hoek (1963)

Gestinari, Lísia Mônica De Souza, Pereira, Sonia Maria Barreto & Yoneshigue-Valentin, Yocie, 2010, Distribution of Cladophora Species (Cladophorales, Chlorophyta) along the Brazilian Coast, Phytotaxa 14, pp. 22-42 : 25-27

2. Cladophora catenata (L.) Kütz. emend. Hoek (1963) . Map 1 ; Figs. 1C–E

Conferva catenata Linnaeus (1753:1166) .

Thalli dark green to black, forming stiff cushions, (2 –) 2.5 (– 3) cm high, attached to the substrate by basal and/or hapteroid rhizoids that sprouted on the tips of apical cells. Unilateral ramification, with laterally inserted branches cut off by a transverse wall. Apical cells long and rounded or tapered gradually to the tip. Apical cells (195 –) 229 (– 274) µm wide and (1236 –) 2492 (– 3892) µm long, with L/W ratio of (6 –) 11 (– 17). Lateral branch cells (188 –) 218.5 (– 256) µm wide and (762 –) 988 (– 1221) µm long, with L/W ratio of (3 –) 4.5 – (6). Main axis cells usually curved and almost prostrate, measuring (199 –) 241.5 (– 292) µm wide and (758 –) 1073 (– 1496) µm long, with L/W ratio of (3 –) 4.5 (– 6). The fungus Blodgettia bornetii E.P. Wright (1881:25) was always present along cell walls of thalli.

Representative specimens examined: BRAZIL. Pernambuco: Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Praia de Itapuama, 20 Jun. 2001, Gestinari (PEUFR 42573); Praia de Pedra do Xaréu, 08 Oct. 1998, Cavalcanti (PEUFR 42577); 09 May 2001, Gestinari (PEUFR 42574); 22 Jun. 2001, Gestinari (PEUFR 42575); Praia Enseada dos Corais, 16 Oct. 2001, Gestinari (PEUFR 42572); Bahia: Porto Seguro, Praia de Mucugê, 12 Mar. 2001, Nunes (ALCB 53339, 53335); Entre Rios, Praia de Subaúma, 05 May 2000, Nunes (ALCB 49408, 49407); Salvador, Praia de Stella Maris, 17 Apr. 2000, Nunes (ALCB 49401).

Additional representative specimens examined: USA. Florida: Cape Florida, Miami Beach, 1923, Brooks & Brooks (UC 690740); NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Curaçao: St. Joris-binnenbaai, 11 Mar. 1958, Vroman (L 0441625); San Pedro, 07 Jun. 1968, Hoek (L 0441597); PORTO RICO. Yabucoa: Jul. 1973, Rehm (L 0441633); Ponce: Caja de Muertos, 14 Jul.1975, Almodovar et al. (L 0441628).

Comments: Specimens were collected growing in the midlittoral zone on plateaus of the sandstone reef from Pernambuco and Bahia. These specimens were accompanied by Anadyomene stellata (Wulfen) Agardh (1823: 400) , Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (Forsskål) BΦrgesen (1932: 2), Phyllodictyon anastomosans (Harvey) Kraft & Wynne (1996: 139) , Hydroclathrus clathratus (Agardh) Howe (1920: 590) , Dictyopteris delicatula Lamouroux (1809: 332) , Dictyota mertensii (Martius) Kützing (1859: 15) , D. pulchella Hörnig & Schnetter (1988: 287) , Padina gymnospora (Kützing) Sonder (1871: 47) , Sphacelaria tribuloides Meneghini (1840: 2) , Jania adhaerens Lamouroux (1816: 270) , Hypnea musciformis (Wulfen) Lamouroux (1813: 43) , Bryothamnion seaforthii (Turner) Kützing (1843a: 433) , Digenea simplex (Wulfen) Agardh (1822: 389) , Palisada perforata (Bory de Saint-Vincent) Nam (2007: 54) and Osmundaria obtusiloba (Agardh) Norris (1991: 14) . The specimens also grew as epiphytes on Laurencia dendroidea Agardh (1852: 753) and Palisada perforata . In addition, we observed C. catenata as a host to A. stellata , Pneophyllum fragile Kützing (1843b: 385) , Ceramium vagans P.C.Silva in Silva et al. (1987: 56), diatoms and cyanobacteria.

The representatives of C. catenata from Pernambuco showed a slightly higher cell width than those from Bahia. There are records of this species along the Brazilian coast in the following areas: Ceará ( Oliveira-Filho 1977), Rio Grande do Norte (as C. fuliginosa Kützing (1849: 415) by Pereira et al. 1980), Pernambuco ( Pereira et al. 2002) and Rio de Janeiro ( Gestinari et al. 1998). However, the collected representatives from Reserva Biológica Estadual da Praia do Sul na Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro ( Gestinari et al. 1998) are actually the species C. corallicola . No herbarium specimens of C. catenata were from the Pernambuco littoral zone, although Pereira et al. (2002) had recorded its occurrence. The studied specimens matched descriptions of species from the North Atlantic ( Taylor 1960; Hoek 1982), the Mediterranean ( Hoek 1963), Japan and eastern Russia ( Hoek & Chihara 2000). We observed the characteristic presence of fungi in the cell walls ( Hoek 1963, 1982; Hoek & Chihara 2000). The species C. catenata was thought to be restricted to the tropical shores of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, its northernmost boundary being the shores of Japan in the Pacific Ocean ( Hoek 1969, Hoek & Chihara 2000), but recently Leliaert & Coppejans (2003) collected this species from the South-Western Indian Ocean ( South Africa). Our study provides the first record from Bahia.

Figures

MAP 1. Distribution map of the species of the genus Cladophora along the Brazilian coast.

FIGURE 1. Species of Cladophora from the coast of Brasil. A–B, C. brasiliana. A, detail of the basal region of the thallus; B, detail of the apical region of the thallus. C–E, C. catenata. C, a specimen showing branched rhizoid and apical cells with rounded tips (Pedra do Xaréu rocky shore—PE); D, detail showing the presence of the fungus Blodgettia bornetii on the cell wall; E, specimen showing an apical cell with hapteroid rhizoid (reef plateau from Itapuama Beach—PE). F–G, C. coelothrix. F, detail of the mid-region of a terminal branch of the tuft (reef plateau from Boa Viagem Beach—PE); G, part of a specimen collected from an intertidal pool on a sandstone reef (Serrambi Beach— PE).