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Spongites Yendoi
''Spongites yendoi'' is a species of crustose red seaweed with a hard, calcareous skeleton in the family Corallinaceae. It is found on the lower shore as part of a diverse community in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Description ''Spongites yendoi'' is a hard, encrusting species of coralline algae. Like other species it contains chlorophyll and uses photosynthesis to synthesize carbohydrates. The cell walls of the algae contain deposits of calcium carbonate which give it its firm consistency. The thallus of ''Spongites yendoi'' is relatively thin and is mainly composed of filaments of small, squarish cells. The lowermost layer is up to eight filaments thick and these cells are mostly elongate. The cells are often fused. The tetrasporangial conceptacles are elliptical and have a single pore. Old conceptacles do not become buried as the thallus grows. The colour varies but may be some shade of grey or chalky white. Its range in South Africa extends furt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scutellastra Cochlear
''Scutellastra cochlear'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the snail patella, the pear limpet or the spoon limpet and is native to South Africa. It often grows in association with the crustose coralline alga ''Spongites yendoi'' and a filamentous red alga which it cultivates in a garden. It was first described by the malacologist Ignaz von Born in 1778 as ''Patella cochlear''. Description ''Scutellastra cochlear'' has a distinctive pear-shaped shell. It is a slow-growing species and may live for 25 years, attaining a length of . The outer surface is often encrusted with coralline algae. The inner surface is white with a bluish tinge, sometimes speckled with black patches, and with a black, U-shaped muscle scar. Distribution and habitat ''Scutellastra cochlear'' is native to exposed coasts of South Africa where it forms dense colonies on rocks on the lower shore. Its ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benthos
Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.Benthos from the Census of Antarctic Marine Life website This community lives in or near marine or freshwater sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the , out to the continental shelf, and then down to the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turbo (gastropod)
''Turbo'' is a genus of large sea snails with gills and an operculum, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2012). Turbo Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=151576 on 2012-09-27 ''Turbo'' is the type genus of the family. Description The shells of species in this genus are more or less highly conspiral, thick, about 20–200 mm, first whorls bicarinate, last whorl large often with strong spiral sculpture, knobs or spines, base convex, with or without umbilicus. Species in this genus have a round aperture and a solid, dome-shaped calcareous operculum. This circular operculum commences as a multispiral disc, like that of a '' Trochus'', upon the outer side of which is deposited a thin calcareous layer by a lobe of the foot which projects partly over it. This arrangement produces an operculum which exhibits all the whorls bene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxystele Sinensis
''Oxystele sinensis'', common name the pink-lipped topshell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails. Description The size of the shell varies between 18 mm and 51 mm. Distribution This marine species occurs off False Bay to South Transkei, South Africa. Ecology Especially small individuals of this species that live in the intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ... are predated upon by rock lobsters. Larger individuals largely escape this predator by migrating to deeper waters, where they find a size refuge. References ''Contributions to the knowledge of South African marine Mollusca''; Annals of The South African Museum vol. 47; 1963* Donald K.M., Kennedy M. & Spencer H.G. (2005) T'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patella Granatina
''Cymbula granatina'', the granite limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. Unlike some other species of giant limpet, ''C. granatina'' is non-territorial, and feeds on a variety of different algae. Description The size of the shell varies between 50 mm and 90 mm. Distribution This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off South Africa and Angola, being common on the upper shore in the cool temperate biogeographical region of Benguela, from Lüderitz to the Cape of Good Hope. Ecology ''C. granatina'' is one of the commonest limpets on the foreshore. It is a herbivore and feeds on a variety of different algae and does not hold and defend a territory. It has a fairly high growth rate and a high gonadal output. The larvae are plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scutellastra Argenvillei
''Scutellastra argenvillei'' or Argenville's limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is endemic to the south and west coasts of Namibia and South Africa in southern Africa. Description It is a large and relatively tall limpet, with an oval base, slightly narrower at one end, with a maximum size of about 90 mm. The outer surface has fine radiating ridges, and the apex is commonly eroded. Inner surface is generally white. Ecology This limpet is abundant on moderately exposed shores in the low inter-tidal and shallow subtidal zone on the west coast of South Africa, but is being displaced by the invasive Mediterranean mussel ''Mytilus galloprovincialis The Mediterranean mussel (''Mytilus galloprovincialis'') is a species of bivalve, a marine mollusc in the family Mytilidae. It is an invasive species in many parts of the world, and also an object of aquaculture. System ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyrenocollema
''Pyrenocollema'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the biological division Ascomycota. Its relationship to other genera is unclear, and it has not been assigned to any family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ..., order or class. Species *'' Pyrenocollema elegans'' *'' Pyrenocollema halodytes'' *'' Pyrenocollema occidentalipamiricum'' *'' Pyrenocollema orustense'' *'' Pyrenocollema pelvetiae'' *'' Pyrenocollema tichothecioides'' *'' Pyrenocollema tremelloides'' References Xanthopyreniaceae Lichen genera Ascomycota genera Taxa described in 1895 {{Ascomycota-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mutualism (biology)
Mutualism describes the ecological interaction between two or more species where each species has a net benefit. Mutualism is a common type of ecological interaction. Prominent examples include most vascular plants engaged in mutualistic interactions with mycorrhizae, flowering plants being pollinated by animals, vascular plants being dispersed by animals, and corals with zooxanthellae, among many others. Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition, in which each species experiences ''reduced'' fitness, and exploitation, or parasitism, in which one species benefits at the expense of the other. The term ''mutualism'' was introduced by Pierre-Joseph van Beneden in his 1876 book ''Animal Parasites and Messmates'' to mean "mutual aid among species". Mutualism is often conflated with two other types of ecological phenomena: cooperation and symbiosis. Cooperation most commonly refers to increases in fitness through within-species (intraspecific) interactions, alth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthparts adapted to rasping or grinding. Horses and other herbivores have wide flat teeth that are adapted to grinding grass, tree bark, and other tough plant material. A large percentage of herbivores have mutualistic gut flora that help them digest plant matter, which is more difficult to digest than animal prey. This flora is made up of cellulose-digesting protozoans or bacteria. Etymology Herbivore is the anglicized form of a modern Latin coinage, ''herbivora'', cited in Charles Lyell's 1830 '' Principles of Geology''.J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner, eds. (2000) ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. 8, p. 155. Richard Owen employed the anglicized term in an 1854 work on fossil teeth and skeletons. ''Herbivora'' is derived from Latin ''her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phorophytes. Epiphytes take part in nutrient cycles and add to both the diversity and biomass of the ecosystem in which they occur, like any other organism. They are an important source of food for many species. Typically, the older parts of a plant will have more epiphytes growing on them. Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily affect the host negatively. An organism that grows on another organism that is not a plant may be called an epibiont. Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone (e.g., many mosses, liverworts, lichens, and algae) or in the tropics (e.g., many ferns, cacti, orchids, and bromeliads). Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their minimal wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intertidal Zone
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species of life, such as seastars, sea urchins, and many species of coral with regional differences in biodiversity. Sometimes it is referred to as the ''littoral zone'' or '' seashore'', although those can be defined as a wider region. The well-known area also includes steep rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, bogs or wetlands (e.g., vast mudflats). The area can be a narrow strip, as in Pacific islands that have only a narrow tidal range, or can include many meters of shoreline where shallow beach slopes interact with high tidal excursion. The peritidal zone is similar but somewhat wider, extending from above the highest tide level to below the lowest. Organisms in the intertidal zone are adapted to an environment of harsh extremes, living in water p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conceptacle
Conceptacles are specialized cavities of marine and freshwater algae that contain the reproductive organs. They are situated in the receptacle and open by a small ostiole.Boney, A.D. (1969). ''A Biology of Marine Algae''. Hutchinson Educational Ltd, London Conceptacles are present in Corallinaceae,Irvine, L.M. and Chamberlain, Y.M. (1994). ''Seaweeds of the British Isles''. Volume 1, Part 2B. Natural History Museum, London. and Hildenbrandiales, as well as the brown Fucales. In the Fucales there is no haploid phase in the reproductive cycle and therefore no alternation of generations.Fritsch, F.E. (1945). ''The Structure and Reproduction of the Algae''. Vol 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge The thallus is a sporophyte.Smith, G.M. (1938). ''Cryptogamic Botany. Algae and Fungi''. Second edition, Volume ''1'', McGraw-Hill Bok Company, Inc. The diploid plants produce male (antheridia) and female ( oogonia) gametangia by meiosis. The gametes are released into the surroundi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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