Abstract
The temperature tolerances in culture of Ecklonia maxima (Osbeck) Papenf., the dominant kelp in the Benguela upwelling region on the west coast of southern Africa, and the smaller E. biruncinata (Bory) Papenf., growing on the warmer south coast, have been investigated. Vegetative growth and reproduction of gametophytes show very similar patterns in the two species, although temperature optima in E. biruncinata are consistently 2 ° to 3 °C higher than those of E. maxima. Reciprocal crosses between clonal female and male gametophytes of the two species produced healthy juvenile sporophytes, indistinguishable from the parent crosses. All parents and hybrids grew well over a wide range of temperatures (8 ° to 22°C), with E. biruncinata sporophytes again having slightly higher optima than E. maxima. Both reciprocal crosses exhibited optima intermediate between the parent crosses. The results are discussed with respect to the origins and evolution of Ecklonia species in the region.
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe
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Bolton, J.J., Anderson, R.J. Temperature tolerances of two southern African Ecklonia species (Alariaceae: Laminariales) and of hybrids between them. Mar. Biol. 96, 293–297 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427029
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427029