How reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia species

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorBolton, John Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorRothman, Mark Den_ZA
dc.contributor.authorLevy, Sarah Bernadetteen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-27T04:10:12Z
dc.date.available2015-05-27T04:10:12Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractEcklonia maxima and Ecklonia radiata are both kelp bed forming macroalgae along the South African coast, and the latter is also found in considerable abundance in Australia and New Zealand. Genetically they exist as two distinct species and can usually be differentiated morphologically, especially when occurring as geographically separate entities. However, they do appear to intergrade when growing together, where plants of apparent intermediate and indeterminate morphology have been observed. This study tested the reliability of morphology in separating these two Ecklonia species across their intraspecific range of morphological variation, from locations where the species co-occur, as well as where they appear in isolation in South Africa (both species) and Australia (E. radiata only). No individual characters reliably separated between species, yet overall size distinctions as well as the morphometric separation of hollow and solid-stiped sporophytes provide good evidence for morphological differentiation of E. radiata and E. maxima. While E. radiata clusters morphometrically, a distinction between Australian and South Africa specimens is observed. In localities where the two species are reported to co-exist morphological distinction is less clear, particularly in deep water at Buffels Bay. The blade morphology of these deep water sporophytes is distinct from both E. radiata and E. maxima across all locations, while overall size distinctions contribute most prominently to the morphological separation of E. radiata and E. maxima at De Hoop. Environmental data in combination with more detailed genetic analyses, especially those aimed at hybrid identification, are necessary to resolve the nature of these subtidal plants as well as to investigate the relationship between genetic differentiation and overlapping morphology in plants at De Hoop.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationLevy, S. B. (2014). <i>How reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia species</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12923en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationLevy, Sarah Bernadette. <i>"How reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia species."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12923en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationLevy, S. 2014. How reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia species. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Levy, Sarah Bernadette AB - Ecklonia maxima and Ecklonia radiata are both kelp bed forming macroalgae along the South African coast, and the latter is also found in considerable abundance in Australia and New Zealand. Genetically they exist as two distinct species and can usually be differentiated morphologically, especially when occurring as geographically separate entities. However, they do appear to intergrade when growing together, where plants of apparent intermediate and indeterminate morphology have been observed. This study tested the reliability of morphology in separating these two Ecklonia species across their intraspecific range of morphological variation, from locations where the species co-occur, as well as where they appear in isolation in South Africa (both species) and Australia (E. radiata only). No individual characters reliably separated between species, yet overall size distinctions as well as the morphometric separation of hollow and solid-stiped sporophytes provide good evidence for morphological differentiation of E. radiata and E. maxima. While E. radiata clusters morphometrically, a distinction between Australian and South Africa specimens is observed. In localities where the two species are reported to co-exist morphological distinction is less clear, particularly in deep water at Buffels Bay. The blade morphology of these deep water sporophytes is distinct from both E. radiata and E. maxima across all locations, while overall size distinctions contribute most prominently to the morphological separation of E. radiata and E. maxima at De Hoop. Environmental data in combination with more detailed genetic analyses, especially those aimed at hybrid identification, are necessary to resolve the nature of these subtidal plants as well as to investigate the relationship between genetic differentiation and overlapping morphology in plants at De Hoop. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - How reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia species TI - How reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia species UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12923 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/12923
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationLevy SB. How reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia species. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12923en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherMarine Biologyen_ZA
dc.titleHow reliable is morphological species delimitation in kelp? : a study of two closely related South African Ecklonia speciesen_ZA
dc.typeBachelor Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelHonours
dc.type.qualificationnameBSc (Hons)en_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
thesis_sci_2014_levy_s.pdf
Size:
2.29 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Other Theses