Red Algae Immune To Bleaching
University of New South Wales PhD candidate Alexandra Campbell told the recent Ecological Society of Australia conference that the seaweed Delisea pulchra, found around southern Australia including WA, produced defensive chemicals called furanones.
These compounds protect the seaweed from being fouled by other organisms growing on it or shading it.
Ms Campbell said the bleaching effects observed in tropical corals since the mid-1990s also affected D. pulchra.
"The disease does not kill the seaweed, but makes it much less healthy. They grow less, photosynthesise less and reproduce less.
"The pathogens have an impact on the plant's health and productivity, rather than killing them."
The UNSW team observed a ‘bleaching’ phenomenon in natural populations of the seaweed in which affected individuals lost pigment on localised areas of their body.
Bleaching is prevalent during summer when water temperatures are high. Bleached individuals have significantly low furanone levels.
