AMPHIPOD FOOD PREFERENCE AND IRIDAEA-SPP (RHODOPHYTA) SPORE RELEASE AND DISPERSAL

Using laboratory experiments, this study examines the nature of the grazing relationship between the amphipod Hyale hirtipalma (Dana) and the red algae Iridaea spp., and the potential effects of grazing on the release and dispersal of algal spores. The results indicate that Hyale hirtipalma has a significant food preference for the cystocarpic stage of Iridaea laminarioides Bory when compared with consumption of Ulva rigida C. Ag. Hyale hirtipalma also shows a significantly greater food preference for cystocarpic tissues of Iridaea laminarioides and I. ciliata Kutzing than for other karyological stages of these algae. By consuming the cystocarpic tissues, H. hirtipalma significantly increases the number of carpospores which are released and which settle at all measured distances from the mature cystocarpic I. laminarioides frond where measurements were taken. This evidence, together with information previously published, indicates that several Hyale species show similar food preferences towards the cystocarpic stage of Iridaea spp., and probably have the same ecological role as spore releasers and dispersal agents.