Seaweeds: A Color-Coded, Illustrated Guide to Common Marine Plants of the East Coast of the United States
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About this ebook
Automobiles, interstate highways, shorter work weeks, longer vacations, and higher salaries have all combined to bring the seashore closer to man. Where once a visit to the shore was only a dream for many, or a once-in-a-lifetime trip for others, the varied oceanic life that has held man's interest for centuries is now just beyond the garage doors of the American family. The same curiosity that stirs the beachcombing instincts of coastal dwellers is possessed by inlanders, and now a midwesterner too can do something about that curiosity. A vacation at the shore is much within his grasp as a visit to the nearest state park. Each year more and more inland residents are taking coastal vacations. As a result beachcombing is more popular than ever, with the same old questions being repeated over and over: "What's this?" "Where do you suppose they came from?" Is that a plant or an animal?" Unfortunately, the answers in too many instances are not readily available. This book is written for the layman. It is color-coded and fully illustrated. The casual visitor of the Atlantic Coast of the United States now has an easy to use, illustrated guide for the quick identification of the marine plants along the coast.
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1 rating1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Although named coloured-guide, the digital version its black and white so the codes are not so easy to be recognized as they could. Nevertheless, it's a good review from American Seaweeds and some common mistaken as algae species like some coral organisms, colonies and vertebrates.
Take in consideration that the book an edition from 1977, and therefore, not the updated state of the art.
Book preview
Seaweeds - C. J. Hillson
Index-Glossary
PREFACE
High-speed automobiles, interstate highways, shorter work weeks, longer vacations, and higher salaries have all combined to bring the seashore closer to man, wherever he lives, than ever before. Where once a visit to the shore was only a dream for many, or a once-in-a-lifetime trip for others, the varied oceanic life that has held man’s interest for centuries is now just beyond the garage doors of the mobile American family. And the same curiosity that stirs the beachcombing instincts of coastal dwellers is possessed by inlanders. The difference is that for the first time a midwesterner can now do something about that curiosity. A vacation at the shore is as much within his grasp as a visit to his state capital or the nearest state park. Each year more and more inland residents are finding the coastal vacation to their liking. As a result, beachcombing is more popular than ever, with the same old questions being repeated over and over: What’s this?
Where do you suppose that came from?
Is that a plant or an animal?
Unfortunately, the answers in too many instances are not readily available.
This guide to the marine plants most likely to be found by the casual visitor to the Atlantic coast of the United States is written for the layman. Although there are several excellent technical books available on the subject, they are of little use to the person not familiar with botanical jargon. For one reason or another, the need for a nontechnical book on east coast seaweeds has not been satisfied. In contrast, there are several nontechnical or semitechnical books available which describe the marine flora of the west coast.
There is one notable exception to this void: Seaweeds of Cape Cod and the Islands by John M. Kingsbury. But since this book deals with a specific area, and quite successfully, it does not serve the same purpose this publication is designed to serve. That is, a quick reference for the identification of a particular seaweed whether the finder is in Maine, on the Delmarva Peninsula, or in Florida. Obviously, to cover such a large area many plants had to be excluded to keep the guide from being unwieldy. But those plants most likely to be found, either as drift, windrow, or attached specimens of the intertidal zone, have been included. By means of color, line drawings, and at most with the aid of a small pocket lens of no more than 10X magnification, the identification of the plant in hand, if at all common, should be possible. Seventy-nine plants are illustrated and described. As an additional help, a few of the marine animals likely to be mistaken for plants are included.
All of the illustrations in this manual were made by the author from specimens collected over the past ten years. These collections now form part of the Phycological Herbarium of The Pennsylvania State University and are permanently preserved as dried specimens, glycerin preserved whole mounts, and/or liquid preserved specimens of entire plants or portions of plants. An attempt has been made to illustrate, as often as possible, entire plants including in some instances the shell, stone, or other object to which the plant was attached. It is hoped that the illustrations will not only aid in the identification of a particular plant but will convey to the reader something of the nature of the habitat in which the plant is characteristically found.
It would be difficult to list by name all of the people who have assisted in one way or another in the preparation of this book. Although I take full responsibility for any errors which might be found, be they typographical or factual, I would be amiss not to mention certain individuals who were of special help. To Dr. Ronald A. Pursell for reading the entire manuscript, to Dr. Charles Bursey and Dr. Alice Beatty for their help with the invertebrates, and to Mrs. Gladys Marshall who patiently typed and retyped pages as I made deletions, corrections, and changes, I am greatly indebted. All are associated with The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology. To Dr. E.E. Webber, Keuka College, Keuka Park, New York, for reading the manuscript, to Dr. Frederick M. Bayer of the Smithsonian Institution for his help with the gorgonians and to the many students in my phycology classes and marine biology course who contributed collections and tidbits of information about individual plants, I am grateful. To the Department of Biology and The Pennsylvania State University for facilities and travel funds, I am appreciative, and to the publisher for innovative ideas and suggestions on format, appearance, and readability, I owe a great deal. Last but not least, to the workers whose publications I consulted frequently for species distributions, salient features, and specialized facts about the plants I have included herein, I give special recognition. Especially helpful were the publications of William Randolph Taylor, John M. Kingsbury, and the late E. Yale Dawson. The books written by these three outstanding phycologists, as well as the publications of others from which I gleaned specific information, are listed in the References. Some of these workers I know personally, others by name only. All of them share with me a special interest in the marine flora, and that makes us colleagues and friends as well as cohorts.
C.J.H.
INTRODUCTION
For most of us the word weed
probably brings to mind a wayside plant of no particular merit—a dandelion in an otherwise unblemished lawn, an upstart sprig of green in the crack of a sidewalk. In other words, we tend to define a weed as an undesirable plant—a plant growing where it is not wanted, an obtrusive plant. Accordingly, a tomato plant in the middle of a corn field, no matter how productive, becomes a weed, and vice versa. A flowering plant, no matter how lovely, is a weed if it makes its appearance in a place where it is not wanted. Yet to define a weed thus presents obvious problems. A value judgment is being made and one man’s weed
might indeed be another man’s flower.
Few but professionals probably view a seaweed as anything but a weed which happens to grow in the ocean. But, as with terrestrial plants, a value judgment is being made and seaweeds, though regarded as a nuisance by most people, play an important part in the livelihood and survival of many marine organisms. In addition, some form the basis for the multimillion dollar alginate, carrageenin, and agar-agar industries. Extracts from seaweeds produced by these industries are found in many food products which we eat daily, and in a variety of other preparations such as cosmetics, hand lotions, medications, and gels. Wherever a stabilizer or emulsifier is desirable in a product, one of the seaweed extracts is likely to be found. Thus the seaweed itself, or a derivative of it, plays an important part in our everyday world.
The Kinds of Seaweeds
Unlike the terrestrial environment where vascular plants are dominant, in the marine habitat the nonvascular plants, i.e., those without specific conducting systems, are the more abundant and conspicuous. Of these, mosses and liverworts are totally lacking and the fungi are small and inconspicuous, though apparently more abundant than once thought. Bacteria are ubiquitous but, being microscopic, are beyond the scope of this manual. The algae then, along with the few vascular plants present in the form of grasses,
there being no ferns or gymnosperms in the sea, are the plants generally referred to when the word seaweed is used. This book is about them, their identification, and the kinds most likely to be seen by the casual visitor to the beach.
What Are Algae?
Botanically, plants recognized as algae are photosynthetic organisms of simple structure which vary in size from individuals close to 300 feet in length down to single cells which can be seen only with the aid of a microscope. They are poorly differentiated plants having no leaves, stems, or roots, although appendages closely resembling these organs might be present, e.g., see Caulerpa prolifera and Alaria esculenta. The distinction is made on the basis of the presence or absence of conducting tissues, known technically as xylem and phloem. The xylem conducts water throughout the plant, and the phloem is involved in food translocation. The two tissues, always associated with each other within the plant, make up what is called the vascular system. Leaves, stems, and roots are vascularized. The appendages of algae, which look like leaves, stems, and roots, are without vascular tissue, although in some there are cells which bear a remarkable resemblance to the phloem cells of flowering plants.
In