chlorophilia's Identifications

Genus: Ellerbeckia R.M.Crawford 1988

Taxonomic Classification:

Phylum, Heterokontophyta,
Subphylum, Coscinodiscophytina;
Class, Coscinodiscophyceae;
Subclass, Paraliophycidae
Order, Paraliales;
Family, Radialiplicataceae
Genus: Ellerbeckia (AlgaeBase 2023)
The type species: Ellerbeckia arenaria (D.Moore ex Ralfs) Dorofeyuk & Kulikovskiy, a freshwater species (AlgaeBase 2023)
Also: Melosira arenaria (Ralfs ex Moore) (Round et al. 1990)

Species:

Ellerbeckia sol (Ehrenberg) R.M.Crawford & P.A.Sims 2006: 151. A marine species.

Basionym: Gallionella sol Ehrenberg (1844: 202)
Synonym: Melosira sol (Ehrenberg) Kützing 1849: 31; 22 (transfer from Gaillonella sol to Melosira sol) is regarded as a synonym of Ellerbeckia sol (Ehrenberg) R.M.Crawford & P.A.Sims.
Ellerbeckia sol: Peragallo 1987: page n911, pl. CXIX', fig; 10: 52 ridges (“rays” in Kützing) in circumference.

Genus description: Ellerbeckia cells are large, heavily silicified, radially patterned, with narrow mantles. They are short cylinders, linked and can form long curved filamentous chains. It is mainly a freshwater genus, rarely marine and found in the fossil record. The valves are flat and lack the areolae, pores and processes of most centric diatoms except for a peripheral ring of pores in some species (Ellerbeckia sol being an exception). Ellerbeckia colonies have two different types of valves: linking and separation valves. Linking valves connect adjacent cells and separation valves are at the ends of each colony. Each of these valve forms has a cameo (relief form) with radiating ridges and stepped mantle and an intaglio (incised form) valve with complementary grooves and lacking the mantle step. Unique tube-like processes are present internally. The valve mantle and valvocopula (girdle band next to the valve) attached by crenulated edges. Girdle bands are without ligulae. Plastids numerous, small and discoid. (Erhenberg 1844: 202, Kützing, 1849: 31, Round et al. 1990, Spaulding et al. 2021, Jüttner et al. 2023).

Found on the Rhodophyta, Polyneura latissima, at Retreat Cove, Trincomali Channel, Galiano Island, B.C., Canada, May 26, 2023 during the Galiano Island 2023 BioBlitz (GGB23-018).

Ellerbeckia sol on Polyneura latissima (Rhodophyta), Retreat Cove (RC), Galiano Isl.: Ellerbeckia sol on Polyneura latissima-diatoms-cleaned-RC-GBB23-018-May26-2023-E800-MW-(Aug 31-2023)fs-0091-97_4.tif:
42.9 µm diameter, 5-6 ridges (rays) in 10 µm, 58 ridges in the circumference.

Shim (1976) reported Melosira sol: p. 123, Pl. 5, fig. 1a & b in the Strait of Georgia, Salish Sea: Valve diameter ca. 50 µm, ca. 6 ridges in 10 µm, ridges (rays) 68 in the circumference, 4 areolae (?) (teres on the mantle?) in 10 µm.

Melosira sol and Ellerbeckia species have not been reported by other investigators besides Shim (1976) studying diatoms of the Salish Sea or the West Coast of Canada. To date, we have found it frequently attached to Rhodophyta (red seaweeds) such as Scagalia americana, Ceramothamnion pacificum and Polyneura latissima in the Southern Gulf Islands, B.C., Canada.

Ellerbeckia sol (Syn. Melosira sol) has been reported from the Antarctic (Ehrenberg 1844); the coast of Normandy, France (Peragallo 1897); on the Rhodophyta Ploclamium cartilagineum from west coast of Baja California, Mexico (Siqueiros Beltrones and U. Argumedo Hernandez 2014) and Potter Cove, King George Island, Antarctica by Handal et al. (2022).

Methods:

Diatoms collected by brushing or scrapping leaf sections of the Rhodophyta Polyneura latissima found at 4.3 m depth at Retreat Cove, Galiano Island, May 26, 2023. Cells were cleaned with concentrated hydrogen peroxide or nitric acid at 100 C for 3-5 hours to remove organics, then rinsed multiple times in ddH20 to a neutral pH. Mounted on SEM stubs or in Naphrax on slides for light microscopy. Imaging with a Nikon TE300 and Tuscen DigiRetna16 MP camera or Nikon E800. In-situ, environmentally prepared samples were made using minimal contact of 8-10 mm leaf sections, soaked in ddH2O to remove salts and dried through an EtOH series (50%-100%) and finished off with 100% Hexamethyldisilane HMDS (Hazrin-Chong and Manefield 2012). Mounted on carbon stickies onto aluminum SEM stubs and imaged with either the Hitachi s4800 or TM4000 at AMF, at University of Victoria, B.C. Also thanks go to Elaine Humphrey of the Advanced Microscope Facility (AMF) at UVIC, imaging by Ron Read, Melanie Quenneville and Arjan van Asselt. Drying, cleaning, side and SEM prep., imaging, taxonomy and identifications by Mark Webber. Thanks go to the joint efforts of the Hakai Institute with diving support for specimen collection, IMERSS, Sandra Lindstrom of UBC for the identification of P. latissima, sample prep. by Arjan van Asselt and Henry Mcgee. Gratitude to the late Andrzej Witkowski, University of Szczecin, Poland who suggested examining Ellerbeckia sol (previously Melosira sol) as the likely species so far observed on our eelgrass and seaweed specimens.

References:

Al-Handal, Adil Y., Torstensson, Anders and Wulff, Angela. "Revisiting Potter Cove, King George Island, Antarctica, 12 years later: new observations of marine benthic diatoms" Botanica Marina, vol. 65, no. 2, 2022, pp. 81-103. https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2021-0066

Crawford, R. M. (2004). The Diatom Genera Ellerbeckia and Actinocyclus: an appraisal of Kociolek and Spaulding. J. Phycol. 40, 432–434.

Erhenberg (1844). Einige vorläufige Resultate seiner Untersuchungen der ihm von der Südpolreise des Captain Ross, so wie von den Herren Schayer und Darwin zugekommenen Materialien über das Verhalten des kleinsten Lebens in den Oceanen und den grössten bisher zugänglichen Tiefen des Weltmeeres. Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung Geeigneten Verhandlungen Der Königl. Preuss. Akademie Der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1844: 182-207.

Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2020. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 7 Nov. 2023.

Hazrin-Chong NH, Manefield M. (2012 ). An alternative SEM drying method using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) for microbial cell attachment studies on sub-bituminous coal. J Microbiol Methods. 90(2):96-9. doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2012.04.014.

Jüttner I., Carter C. F., Ector L., Mann D. G. Ellerbeckia R.M. Crawford; 1988; 421, 422. In: Jüttner I., Carter C., Chudaev D., Cox E.J., Ector L., Jones V., Kelly M.G., Kennedy B., Mann D.G., Turner J. A., Van de Vijver B., Wetzel C.E., Williams D.M. 2023 . Freshwater Diatom Flora of Britain and Ireland. Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. Available online at https://naturalhistory.museumwales.ac.uk/diatoms/browsespecies.php?-recid=4190. [Accessed: 9 November 2023].

Kützing, (1849). Species algarum. pp. [i]-vi, [1]-922. Lipsiae [Leipzig]- F.A. Brockhaus.

Mather et al. (2010). A Checklist of Diatom Species Reported (and Presumed Native) from Canadian Coastal Waters. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/mpo-dfo/Fs97-6-2881-eng.pdf).

Peragallo, H. et M. (1897). Diatomées marines de France et des districts maritimes voisins,

Round, F.E., Crawford, R.M. and Mann, D.G. (1990), The Diatoms, Biology & Morphology of the Genera, pp. 470-471. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Shim, J. H. (1976). Distribution and Taxonomy of Planktonic Marine Diatoms in the Strait of Georgia, B.C. Phd. Thesis, UBC. p. 169. p. 242 Plate XXI. FIG. 18.

Sims, P.A. (ed.) (1996). An atlas of British diatoms arranged by B. Hartley based on illustrations by H.G. Barber and J.R. Carter. pp. [2], 1-601, incl. 290 pls. Bristol: Biopress Ltd.

Siqueiros Beltrones, D. A. & U. Argumedo Hernández. 2014. Particular structure of an epiphytic diatom assemblage living on Ploclamium cartilagineum (Lamoroux) Dixon (Rhodophyceae: Gigartinales). CICIMAR Oceanides, 29(2): 11-24.

Spaulding et al. 2021. Diatoms.org: supporting taxonomists, connecting communities. Diatom Research 36(4): 291-304. doi:10.1080/0269249X.2021.2006790 (https://diatoms.org/genera/ellerbeckia/guide)

1) Genus: Petroneis A.J.Stickle & D.G.Mann, 1990
Type species:
Petroneis humerosa (Brébisson ex W.Smith) Stickle & D.G.Mann 1990: 674

2) Species:
Petroneis granulata D.G.Mann, nom. illeg. 1990: 674 (Rao and Lewin 1976 (as Navicula granulata; Tynni 1986 as Navicula granulata; Pienitz et al, 2003: 45, plate 13). Witkowski et al. 2000: p, 327; plate 97:1, 2. Matches: Rao and Lewin 1976, Witkowski et al. 2000, Plinski and Witkowski 2020 (272-273. Fig. 312) and Jones et al. 2005. Identification based on morphology and the genus is supported by molecular data. The strongest signal is for Petroneis humerosa, 462, 462, 100%, 2e-125, 94.44% which is not a confident e value for species, and there is only one record in BLAST and Genebank for Petroneis and that is: Petroneis humerosa voucher E3568 ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit (rbcL) gene, partial cds; chloroplast GenBank: AY571757.1

A first report for Petroneis and Petroneis granulata for the Trincomali Channel and Galiano Island marine waters.

3) Taxonomic notes on the genera: Petroneis

Phylum: Bacillariophyta
Class: Bacillariophyceae
Order: Lyrellales
Family: Lyrellaceae
Genus: Petroneis (Guiry and Guiry 2023)

Found on Z. marina. Collected at Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park (MHMPP). Collected Aug. 4, 2020: Petroneis granulata on Zm MHMPP-Aug 4-2020-slide 5-H2O2_E800-40x_MU2003-Nov 21b-2021 fs 0002-16_2.tif

4) Methods:

Collected by brushing or scrapping leaf sections of Z. marina from MHMPP, August 3, 2020, October 16, 2020, March 7, 2021 and July 2021. Diatoms were rinsed with distilled and deionized water then cleaned with various oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide, nitric and sulphuric acid and heated at 100 C for 3-5 hours. Mounted on a coverslip with Naphrax. Imaged with a Nikon E800 with either bright-field or DIC. My thanks to Siobhan Schenk and Laura Parfrey in the Parfrey Lab at UBC for molecular data from the eelgrass and collaboration with IMERSS. Imaging, identifications, and taxonomy by M. Webber. Gratitude for assistance with the species identification from the late Andrzej Witkowski, University of Szczecin, Poland.

5) References:

Guiry, M.D. in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2021. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 22 November, 2021.

Jones, H. M., Simpson, G.E. Alan J. Stickle, A.J. and Mann, D. G. (2005). Life history and systematics of Petroneis (Bacillariophyta), with special reference to British waters, European Journal of Phycology, 40:1, 61-87, DOI: 10.1080/09670260400024675

Pienitz, R., Fedje, D. and Poulin, M. (2003) Marine and Non-Marine Diatoms from the Haida Gwaii Archipelago and Surrounding Coasts, Northeastern Pacific, Canada In Bibliotheca Diatomologica (H. Lange-Bertalot and P. Kociolek, eds.), Band 48, J. Cramer, Stuttgart, 146 pp.

Plinski, M. & Witkowski, A. (2020). Diatoms from the Gulf of Gdansk and surrounding waters (the southern Baltic Sea). pp. [1]-442, incl. 31 SEM pls, 16 photo pls. Gdansk: Gdansk University Press.

Rao, V.N.R. and Levin, J. 1976. Benthic marine diatom flora of False Bay, San Juan Island, Washington. Syesis, 9:173–213.

Round, F.E., Crawford, R.M. and Mann, D.G. (1990), The Diatoms, Biology & Morphology of the Genera, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Tynni, R. (1986). Observations of diatoms on the coast of the State of Washington. Geological Survey of Finland. Report of Investigation 75.

Witkowski, A., Lange-Bertalot, H. & Metzeltin, D. (2000). Diatom flora of marine coasts I. Iconographia Diatomologica 7: 1-925, incl. 219 pls with 4504 figs.