Laminaria ochroleuca

Laminaria ochroleuca is a large kelp, an alga in the order Laminariales.[1] They are commonly known as golden kelp, due to their blade colouration, distinguishing them from Laminaria hyperborea[2]

Laminaria ochroleuca
Scientific classification
Clade: SAR
Phylum: Ochrophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Laminariales
Family: Laminariaceae
Genus: Laminaria
Species:
L. ochroleuca
Binomial name
Laminaria ochroleuca
Bachelot de la Pylaie, 1824

Description

This large brown alga can grow to a length of 2 m. It has large leathery blades or fronds which grow from a stipe. The blade is without a midrib and divided into smooth linear sections. The stipe is stalk-like, stiff, smooth and attached to rocks by a claw-like holdfast.[1] It is similar to Laminaria hyperborea but it is more yellow in colour[3] and does not have the rough stipe of L. hyperborea.[1]

Reproduction

The life-cycle is of the large diploid sporophyte alternating with the microscopic haploid stages producing female gametophytes which are fertilized by male gametophytes (sperm).[1]

Distribution

This species is found in the Northern Hemisphere, from Morocco to the south of England [4] In the UK, it was first documented in Plymouth Sound in 1946 [5] and its range expansion continues due to climate change. It was found on the northeast coast of England beyond the Humber estuary before 1965.

References
  1. Bunker, F.StP,D., Brodie, J.A., Maggs, C.A. and Bunker, A.R. 2017. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. Second Edition. Wild Nature Press, Plymouth, UK. ISBN 978-0-9955673-3-7
  2. Franco, João N.; Tuya, Fernando; Bertocci, Iacopo; Rodríguez, Laura; Martínez, Brezo; Sousa-Pinto, Isabel; Arenas, Francisco (2018). "The 'golden kelp' Laminaria ochroleuca under global change: Integrating multiple eco-physiological responses with species distribution models". Journal of Ecology. 106: 47–58. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12810.
  3. Hardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2003. A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. British Phycological Society, London. ISBN 0-9527115-16
  4. Smale, Dan A.; Wernberg, Thomas; Yunnie, Anna L. E.; Vance, Thomas (2015). "The rise of Laminaria ochroleuca in the Western English Channel (UK) and comparisons with its competitor and assemblage dominant Laminaria hyperborea". Marine Ecology. 36 (4): 1033–1044. Bibcode:2015MarEc..36.1033S. doi:10.1111/maec.12199.
  5. Parke, Mary (1948). "Laminaria ochroleuca de la Pylaie Growing on the Coast of Britain". Nature. 162 (4112): 295–296. Bibcode:1948Natur.162..295P. doi:10.1038/162295c0.
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