Marine Botany

Samples of Ascophylum nodosum were taken, to test the distribution of its red algal epiphyte, Polysiphonia lanosa, over their intertidal growth range. These samples were taken at Green’s Point and Brandy Cove, New Brunswick. These two sites have different physical properties, with Green’s Point being more exposed with a higher salinity and Brandy Cove, a more enclosed estuary with a lower salinity. Virtually no P. lanosa was found at Brandy Cove while at Green’s Point more P. lanosa was found in the mid zone of Ascophyllum nodosum’s intertidal distribution as compared to the high and the low. The total wet biomasses for the low, mid, and high zones, were 19.6g, 50.7g, and 14.6g respectively and the masses after drying were 2.7g, 7.1g, and 3.0g. No definite conclusions as to why this distribution pattern was observed can be stated, but speculations can be made. One of the most common plants found in the rocky intertidal regions of the north Atlantic is the brown algae, Ascophyllum nodosum (Ciciotte and Thomas, 1997). This brown algae is the only species of its genus and can be found on both sides of the Atlantic. Ascophylum nodosum serves as a host for the red algae Polysiphonia lanosa, an epiphyte which can be found growin