| f | Red algae, which is categorized under the phylum Rhodophyta, is distributed acro | f | Red algae, which is categorized under the phylum Rhodophyta, is distributed acro |
| ss all oceans. | | ss all oceans. |
| n | Its color comes from its accessory photosynthetic pigments: phycoerythrin, phyco | n | Its color comes from its accessory photosynthetic pigments, phychoetherin, phyco |
| cyanin, and allophycocyanin. | | cyanin, and allophycocyanin. |
| Phycoerythrin in particular reflects red light and absorbs blue light which pene | | Vicorethrin in particular reflects red light and absorbs blue light, which penet |
| trates deeper than any other light wave, and that's why reds are usually found d | | rates deeper than any other light wave, and that's why reds are usually found de |
| eeper than any other algae, including browns and greens. | | eper than any other algae, including browns and greens. |
| They're incredibly important to marine ecosystems and come in many varieties. | | They're incredibly important to marine ecosystems and come in many varieties. |
| n | This includes branching, leafy, bushy, lacy, crustose coralline, and articulated | n | This includes branching, leafy, bushy, lacy, crostus coralline, and articulated |
| coralline. | | coralline. |
| Corallines are particularly known as reef builders because they secrete carbonat | | Corallines are particularly known as reef builders because they secrete carbonat |
| e around themselves, which is a hard protective layer, in much the same way that | | e around themselves, which is a hard protective layer, in much the same way that |
| corals do. | | corals do. |
| n | Light requirements vary between different Rhodophytes as their levels of photosy | n | Light requirements vary between different rhodophytes as their levels of photosy |
| nthetic pigments vary, and thus, as their complex life cycles progress, they mai | | nthetic pigments vary, and thus as their complex life cycles progress, they main |
| nly compete for light and space to settle and grow. | | ly compete for light and space to settle and grow. |
| So, for this project, I wanted to explore the question of whether the holdfast o | | So for this project, I wanted to explore the question of whether the holdfast of |
| f Macrocystis pyrifera, which is a canopy algae, had an impact on the presence o | | Macrosis pyrifera, which is a canopy algae, had an impact on the presence of di |
| f different types of red algae using the dimes video surveys. | | fferent types of red algae using the DIMES video surveys. |
| I categorized them into reds, crustose corallines, and articulated corallines. | | I categorized them into reds, crustose corallines, and articulated corallines. |
| n | The study area was Hopkins Marine Life Refuge. | n | |
| Hell yeah. | | |
| Where each team had a marked starting point along a cable located in the kelp be | | The study area was Hopkins Marine Life Refuge, where each team had a marked star |
| d offshore. | | ting point along a cable located in the kelp bed offshore. |
| That cable was divided into four sites at 0, 50, 100, and 150 meters, respective | | That cable was divided into four sites at 0 50 100 and 150 meters respectively e |
| ly. | | ach site had a starting and ending depth that was noted teams were assigned a ca |
| | | mera rig consisting of a gopro two lights and a pvc pipe bar which was a meter l |
| | | ong as well as a 30 meter transect which was laid out and that's where the benth |
| | | ic videos were taken from there i used each group's videos to estimate algal cov |
| | | er. |
| Each site had a starting and ending depth that was noted. | | |
| Teams were assigned a camera rig consisting of a GoPro, two lights, and a PVC pi | | |
| pe bar, which was a meter long, as well as a 30 meter transect, which was laid o | | |
| ut, and that's where the benthic videos were taken. | | |
| From there, I used each group's videos to estimate algal cover. | | |
| For each video, I noted how many holdfasts were present and took a screen grab e | | For each video, I noted how many holdfasts were present and took a screen grab e |
| ach time. | | ach time. |
| n | Using a 10 by 10 grid with a hundred squares, I estimated the average percent co | n | Using a 10x10 grid with 100 squares, I estimated the average percent cover of re |
| ver of reds, crustose corallines, and articulated corallines. | | ds, crustos corallines, and articulated corallines. |
| I then used a random number generator with the total video time to select random | | I then used a random number generator with the total video time to select random |
| points along the transect to estimate algal cover when the holdfasts were not p | | points along the transect to estimate algal cover when the holdfasts were not p |
| resent. | | resent. |
| t | So after finding all the averages, the general patterns I saw were that red alga | t | So after finding all the averages, the general patterns I saw were that red alga |
| e were more common along the shallower depths of the cable at around zero meters | | e were more common along the shallower depths of the cable at around zero meters |
| , with their presence being more prominent when holdfasts were absent. | | with their presence being more prominent when holdfasts were absent. |
| For crustose coralline algae, the opposite was true. | | |
| They were more common at the deeper points of the cable at 150 meters, but they | | For Christos coralline algae the opposite was true they were more common at the |
| were still more common when the holdfast was absent. | | deeper points of the cable at 150 meters but they were still more common when th |
| | | e holdfast was absent. |
| And lastly, for the articulated coralline algae, it was a pretty consistent tren | | And lastly for the articulated coralline algae, it was a pretty consistent trend |
| d of having them be more present when the holdfast was present, and it was consi | | of having them be more present when the holdfast was present and it was consist |
| stent along the entirety of the cable. | | ent along the entirety of the cable. |
| Now, while I do believe more data definitely needs to be collected in order to m | | Now while I do believe more data definitely needs to be collected in order to ma |
| ake any definitive conclusions about whether holdfast presence has an impact on | | ke any definitive conclusions about whether holdfast presence has an impact on r |
| red algae growth, I do think being able to visualize the patterns observed throu | | ed algae growth, I do think being able to visualize the patterns observed throug |
| gh the dimes videos was a huge success. | | h the DIMES videos was a huge success. |
| Despite some limitations, including things like overexposure from lights, blurry | | Despite some limitations including things like overexposure from lights, blurry |
| videos and difficulty IDing in some cases, we now know it's totally possible to | | videos, and difficulty IDing in some cases, we now know it's totally possible to |
| use these video surveys to look at algae cover. | | use these video surveys to look at algae cover. |
| Algae is already a very understudied field and having that knowledge along with | | Algae is already a very understudied field, and having that knowledge along with |
| the ability to scuba dive makes it pretty rare for folks to be able to survey th | | the ability to scuba dive makes it pretty rare for folks to be able to survey t |
| em in situ. | | hem in situ. |
| Dimes videos in turn can be a great resource for IDing, estimating cover, and mo | | DIME's videos in turn can be a great resource for IDing, estimating cover, and m |
| re. | | ore. |