History of phycology
Encyclopedia
The History of phycology is the history of the scientific study of algae
. Human interest in plants as food goes back into the origins of the species and knowledge of algae can be traced back more than two thousand years. However only in the last three hundred years has that knowledge evolved into a rapidly developing science.
goes back into pre-history as plants were the food of people from the beginning of the human race. The first attempts at plant cultivation are believed to have been made shortly before 10,000 BC in Western Asia (Morton, 1981) and the first references to algae are to be found in early Chinese literature
. Records as far back as 3000 BC indicate that algae were used by the emperor of China as food (Huisman, 2000 p. 13). The use of Porphyra
in China dates back to at least A.D. 533–44 (Mumfard and Miura, 1988), there are also references in Roman and Greek literature. The Greek word for algae was "Phycos" whilst in Roman
times the name became Fucus
. There are early references to the use of algae for manure
. The first coralline algae
to be recognized as living organisms were probably Corallina, by Pliny the Elder
in the 1st century AD (Irvine and Chamberlain, 1994 p. 11).
The classification of plants suffered many changes since Theophrastus
(372–287 B.C.) and Aristotle
(384–322 B.C.) grouped them as "trees", "shrubs" and "herbs" (Smith, 1955 p. 1).
Little is known of botany during the Middle Ages
— it was the Dark Ages of botany.
The development of the study of phycology runs in a pattern comparable with, and parallel to, other biological fields but at a different rate. After the invention of the printing-press in the 15th century (with the publication of the first printed book: Gutenberg's Bible of 1488) education enabled people to read and knowledge to spread.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/ray.html who wrote in 1660: Catalogus Plantarum circa Cantabrigiam., this initiated a new era in the study of Botany (Smith, 1975 p. 4). Ray "influenced both the theory and the practice of botany more decisively than any other single person in the latter half of the seventeenth century" (Morton, 1981).
However no real progress was made in the scientific study of algae until the invention of the microscope
— in about 1600. It was Anton van Leeuwenhoek
(1632–1723) who discovered bacteria
and saw the cell structure of plants. His unsystematic glimpses of plant structure, reported to the Royal Society
between 1678 and his death in 1723, produced no significant advances (Morton, 1981 p. 180).
As adventurers explored the world more species of all animals and plants were discovered, this demanded efforts to bring order out of this quickly accumulating knowledge.
The first Australian marine plant recorded in print was collected from Shark Bay
on the Western Australian coast by William Dampier
who described many new species of Australian wildlife in the 17th century (Huisman, 2000 p. 7).
in some sort of order. Carolus Linnaeus
(Carl von Linné) http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html was a Swedish botanist, the son of a pastor of the Lutheran church, a physician and zoologist. He laid the foundations of modern biological systematics
and nomenclature in his Species Plantarum (1753). He adopted and popularized a binomial
(or binary) system of designation (Morton, 1981) using one name as the genus
and a second name as the species
name both in Latin or Latinised. This specific name he
referred to as a trivial name nomen triviale consisting of a single word, normally a Latin adjective, but any single word would suffice, to identify a particular species, but not intended to describe it. He developed a coherent system for naming organisms and divided the plant kingdom into 25 classes (according to Smith p. 1 and p. 24 according to Dixon, 1973) (Smith, 1955 p. 1), one of which, the Cryptogamia, included all plants with concealed reproductive organs. He divided the Cryptogamia into four orders: Filices, Musci (mosses), Algae — which included lichens and liverworts and fungi (Smith, 1955 p. 1).
Examination for the reproductive structures had already started. In 1711, R.A.F de Réaumur
gave an account of Fucus
in which noted the two types of external openings in the thallus: the non-sexual cryptostromata (sterile surface cavities) and the conceptacles (fertile cavities, immersed but with a surface opening) containing the sexual organs, which he thought were female flowers. With a lens he was able to see the oogonoa (the female sex organs) and the antheridia (the male sex organs) within the conceptacles, but he interpreted these as seeds (Morton, 1981 p. 245). Johann Hedwig
(1730–1799) provided further evidence of the sexual process in algae, and figured conjugation in Spirogyra
Hedwig in 1797. He also illustrated Chara (Charales
) and identified the antheridia and oogonia as male and female sexual organs (Morton, 1981 p. 323 & 357).
Harvey commented on ...motion, apparently spontaneous, among the seeds at the period of germination. Some found it difficult...to account for these anomalous motions. ...that the seeds becomes (how is not said) a perfect nimalcule, which after enjoying an animal existence for a time ceases to live animally, and, reverting to its original nature, gives birth to a vegetable. Thus, this seed was first vegetable, then animal, and then again vegeable,... . During the 18th Century there was a stormy controversy as to whether coralline algae were plants or animals. Up to the mid-18th century coralline algae (and coral animals) were generally treated as plants. By 1768 many, but by no means all authorities, considered them animal. Five years later, Harvey concluded that they were certainly of vegetable material he noted: "The question of the vegetable nature of Corallines, among which the Melobesia take rank, may now be considered as finally set at rest, by the researches of Kützing, Phillipi and Decaisne." (Harvey,1847, pl. 73).
The first scientific species description of a South African seaweed accepted for most nomenclatural purposes is that of Ecklonia maxima, published in 1757 as Fucus maximus (Stegenga et al., 1997).
Knowledge of North American Pacific algae begins with the 1791–95 expedition of Captain George Vancouver
(Papenfuss,1976 p. 21).
Archibald Menzies
(1754–1842) was the appointed botanist on the expedition led by Captain George Vancouver in the ships Discovery and Chatham of 1791–1795 to the Pacific coast of North America and south-western Australia. The algae collected by Menzies were passed to Dawson Turner (1775–1858) who described and illustrated them in a four-volumed work published in 1808–1819. However Turner only referred to the taxa referable to Fucus
; either Menzies collected very few or he gave only a few to Turner. Three of these species described by Turner later became the types of new genera
(Papenfuss, 1976) and (Huisman, 2000) Turner also received plants from Robert Brown
(1773–1858) the botanist who accompanied Captain Matthew Flinders on the Investigator (1801–1805). This collection also included many plants from Australia (Huisman, 2000).
The real awakening of interest in American algae resulted from a visit by William Henry Harvey
in 1849–1850 when he visited areas from Florida to Nova Scotia
and produced three volumes of Nereis Boreali-Americana. These gave an incentive to others to study algae (Taylor, 1972 p. 21).
The first collector of marine algae in Greenland
waters seems to have been J.M.Vahl
who lived in Greenland from 1828 to 1836. Vahl's East Greenland species were not recorded until 1893 when Rosenvinge
included them in his work of 1893 together with the species collected by Sylow (Lund, 1959). F.R.Kjellman
records only 12 species from East Greenland 4 of which are doubtful, these records are based on Zeller's list (Lund, 1959).
was one of the most prominent algologists of all time, he was born in Sweden on 23 January 1785 and died on 28 January 1859. He was Professor of Botany at the University of Lund and later Bishop
of Karlstad Diocese (Papenfuss, 1976). Many species still show his name as the authority of the scientific name. He traveled widely in Europe visiting Germany, Poland
, Denmark
, the Netherlands
, Belgium
, France and Italy
and was the first to emphasize the importance of the reproductive characters of algae and use them to distinguish the different genera and families. His son, Jacob Georg Agardh
(1813–1901), who became Professor of Botany at Lund
in 1839, made a study of the life-histories of algae, described many new genera and species. It was to him that many workers sent specimens for determination and as donations. Because of this the herbarium at Lund is the most important algal herbaria in the world (Papenfuss, 1976).
The first records of algae from the Faroe Islands
were made by Jørgen Landt
in his book of 1800 where he mentions about 30 species. Following this, Hans Christian Lyngbye
visited the Faroe Islands
in 1817 and published his work in 1819. In this, he described several new genera and species, some 100 new species were listed. Emil Rostrup
who visited the Faroe Islands
in 1867 listed ten new species and a total not far from 100. In 1895, Herman G. Simmons mentioned 125 species. In that year F. Børgesen
(1866–1956) started work and in 1902 published his work (Børgesen, 1902).
Jean Vincent Félix Lamouroux (1779–1825) was the first, in 1813, to separate the algae into groups on the basis of colour (Dixon and Irvine, 1977 p. 59). At this time all coralline algae were considered animals, it was R. Philippi who in 1837 published his paper in which he finally recognized that coralline algae were not animals and he proposed the generic names Lithophyllum and Lithothamnion (Irvine and Chamberlain, 1994 p. 11).
Freshwater algae are commonly treated separately from marine algae and may be considered not correctly placed in phycology. Lewis Weston Dillwyn
(1778–1855) "British Confervae" (1809) was one of the earliest attempts to bring together all that was then known on the British Freshwater algae .
Specimens of Anne E. Ball (1808–1872) have been found in both the Herbarium
of the Irish National Botanic Gardens
, Dublin http://www.botanicgardens.ie/herb/herb.htm and the Ulster Museum
(BEL). A.E.Ball was an Irish algologist who corresponded with W.H. Harvey and whose records appear in his Phycologia Britannica. The specimens in Dublin do not contain any unusual or rare items. However, they are well documented.
and Professor in Botany
at Trinity College, Dublin
, was one of the most distinguished algologists of his time (Papenfuss, 1976 p. 26). Apart from Ireland
he visited South Africa, the Atlantic seaboard of America
as far south as the Florida Keys
on the east coast of North America and Australia (1854–1856). Between 1853 to 1856 he visited Ceylon, Australia and New Zealand
and various parts of the South Pacific (Huisman, 2000 & Papenfuss, 1976). His collection in Australia resulted in one of the most extensive collections of marine plants and it inspired others (Huisman, 2000). He published: Nereis Australis Or Algae of the Southern Ocean in 1847–1849 and in 1846–51 his Phycologia Britannica appeared. His Nereis Boreali-Americana was published in three parts (1852–1858) this was the first, and still is (1976) is the only marine algal flora of North America as it includes taxa from the Pacific coast (Papenfuss, 1976 p. 27). His five-volume Phycologia Australica
was published in 1858 to 1863. These volumes remain to this day a most important reference to Australian algae (Huisman, 2000). His primary herbarium is in Trinity College, Dublin (TCD). However large collections of Harvey material are to be found in the Ulster Museum (BEL) (Morton, 1977; Morton, 1981); University of St Andrews
(STA) and National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL), Melbourne, Australia (May, 1977). Many of the collectors of this period sent, and exchanged, specimens freely one to another, as a result Harvey's books show a remarkable knowledge of the distribution of algae elsewhere in the world. His Phycologia Britannica lists species recorded and collected from various parts of the British Isles
. For example he notes William Thompson
(1805–1852), William McCalla
(c.1814–1849), John Templeton
(1766–1825) and D. Landsborough (1779–1854) who collected, as he did, from distinct sites in Ireland
. The collections of these botanists, and many others, are represented separately by collections in the Ulster Museum
(BEL).
Sir William Jackson Hooker
(1785–1865) was a life-long friend of Harvey (Papenfuss, 1976 p. 26), he was appointed Professor of Botany at Glasgow University in 1820 and became Director in Kew
1841–1865. Hooker recognized the talent in Harvey and lent him books, encouraged and invited him to write the section on algae in his British Flora. as well as the section on algae for The Botany of Captain Beechey's Voyage (Papenfuss, 1976). Margaret Gatty (1809–1873) (née Margaret Scott) (author of British Seaweeds, 1863), and others, corresponded with William Henry Harvey (Desmond, 1977 and Evans, 2003).
In the same period Friedrich Traugott Kützing (1807–1893) in Germany described more new genera than anyone either before or after (Chapman, 1968 p. 13). His publications span the period 1841 to 1869 and added materially to knowledge of algae of cold waters of the Arctic seas. Some of his specimens are stored in the Ulster Museum Herbarium (BEL) catalogued: F1171; F10281–F10318. In 1883 Frans Reinhold Kjellman
, Professor of Botany at Uppsala University
, published The Algae of the Arctic Sea. He divided the "Arctic Sea" into different regions which surround the North Pole (Kjellman, 1883). Further research work on the marine algae of the world included: Charles Lewis Anderson (1827–1910) who collaborated with William Gilson Farlow
and with Professor Daniel Cady Eaton
to produce on the first exsiccatae of North American Algae (Papenfuss, 1976). Edward Morell Holmes (1843–1930), was an expert on seaweeds, mosses, liverworts and lichens, specimens were sent to him from all over the British Isles
, as well as from Norway
, Sweden
, Florida, Tasmania
, France, Cape of Good Hope
, Cylon
and Australia. He also exchanged specimens (Furley, 1989). and some are in the herbarium of the Ulster Museum (BEL).
George Clifton
(1823–1913) an Australian phycologist is mentioned in Harvey
's Memoirs, as the Superintendent of the Water Police in Perth, West Australia sent algal specimens to Harvey (Blackler, H.1977). In these years there were many workers in this field: W.G. Farlow, mentioned above, who was appointed in 1879 Professor of Cryptogamic Botany at University of Harvard (U.S.A.) in 1879 and published, among other works, the Marine algae of New England and Adjacent Coasts.; in 1876 John Erhard Areschoug, a Swedish Professor of Botany at Upsalla University, reported on some brown algae
collected in California by Gustavus A. Eisen (Papenfuss. 1976). George W.Traill (1836–1897) was a clerk in the Standard Life Company in Edinburgh
where he worked long hours, yet he was one of the greatest authorities on Scottish algae. Despite bad health he was an indefatigable collector. In 1892 he gave his collection to the Herbarium of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens (Furley, 1989).
Mikael Heggelund Foslie (M.Foslie) (1855–1905) published 69 papers between 1887–1909. During this time he increased the number of species and forms (of corallines) from 175 to 650 (Irvine and Chamberlain, 1994). After his death his collection of specimens was purchased by the Museum of the Royal Norwegian Society for Sciences and Letters (Thor et al., 2005) and there is a small collection of his in the Ulster Museum Herbarium: (Collection No. 42) entitled: Algae Norvegicae (Ulster Museum Herbarium catalogue (BEL): F10319–F10334). F.Heydrich also described 84 taxa and was a bitter foe of Foslie. This left a legacy of complicated and still unresolved problems.
It was in the 19th Century that the true nature of lichens, as organisms consisting of an alga and a fungus in specific association, was demonstrated by Schwendener in 1867. This removed a source of confusion in morphology and classification (Morton, 1981 p. 432). It was in this period (1859) that Charles Darwin
(1809–1882) published his book on evolution
:On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,....
.
In 1935 and 1945 Felix Eugen Fritsch
(1879–1954) published in two volumes his treatise: The Structure and Reproduction of the Algae. These two volumes detail virtually all that was then known about the morphology and reproduction of the algae. However knowledge of algae has so greatly increased since then it would be impossible for these to be brought up-to-date. Nevertheless reference is often made to them. Other valuable works published in the 1950s include Cryptogamic Botany. written by Gilbert Morgan Smith (1885–1959), the algal volume (no.1) was published in 1955. In the following year (1956), Die Gattungen der Rhodophyceen. by Johan Harald Kylin (1879–1949) was published posthumously. Other phycologists who contributed massively to the knowledge of algae include: Elmer Yale Dawson (1918–1966) who published over 60 papers on the algae of the North American Pacific seas (Papenfuss, 1976).
In 1902 Edward Arthur Lionel Batters (1860–1907) published "A catalogue of the British Marine algae." (Batters, 1902). In this he detailed records of algae found on the shores of the British Isles with the localities. This was the start of a new approach, the bringing together of records, detailed keys, checklists and mapping schemes.
The process accelerated in the 20th century. Lilly Newton (née Batten) (1893–1981) Professor in Botany at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and Professor Emeritus in 1931 wrote: A Handbook of the British Seaweeds. This was the first, and for quite a time, the only book for identification of seaweeds in the British Isles
using a botanical key. In 1962 Eifion Jones
published: A key to the genera of the British seaweeds. This small booklet provided a valuable source in the period before the valuable series Seaweeds of the British Isles was produced by the British Museum (Natural History) or The Natural History Museum
.
Research advanced so quickly that the need for an up-to-date checklist became apparent. Mary Parke (1902–1981), who was a founder member of the British Phycological Society, produced a preliminary checklist of British marine algae in 1953, corrections and additions of this were published in 1956, 1957 and 1959. In 1964 M.Parke and Peter Stanley Dixon (1929–1993) published a revised check-list, a second revision of this was produced in 1968 and a third revision in 1976. Distribution was added to the checklist in 1986 with G.R.South and I.Tittley's A Checklist and Distributional Index of the Benthic Marine Algae of the North Atlantic Ocean. In 2003 A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland was published by Gavin Hardy and Michael Guiry with a revised edition in 2006 . This shows how rapidly knowledge of algae, at least in the British Isles
, advanced. First efforts had been made by interested biologists and people capable of identifying the algae, this required books using the botanical names. Botanical keys to identify the plants then developed, followed by checklists. As more information was brought to light by interested workers, some volunteers, the checklists were improved and eventually a mapping scheme brought together all this information. The same pattern of knowledge developed with birds, mammals and flowering plants, though to a different time-scale and knowledge in other parts of the world has developed to this degree.
and William Thompson
were at work publishing on the algae of Ireland. In 1836 Mackay published his Flora Hibernica including 296 species. Adams, in his synopsis of 1908, listed a total of marine species reaching 843.
In more localised lists Adams (in 1907) listed the species of County Antrim noted that of the 747 species included in "Batter's List" he recorded 211 species from the Co. Antrim coast. In 1907 a list of marine aslgae from Lambay Island
(County Dublin) was published by Batters. In 1960 A preliminary list of the marine algae of Galloway coast was published.
At the international level there are well over 3,000 species of alga in Australia.
in 1962, wrote a key to the genera of British seaweeds. Others soon followed: Dickinson wrote one entitled British Seaweeds. and Adey and Adey (1973) gave keys to the identification of the Corallinaceae of the British Isles. Abott and Hollenberg, in 1976, published keys to the identification of algae of California.
, Fucus
and Chara, contained organisms now regarded as algae (Dixon, 1973 p. 231). As a consequence of the great increase in the number of species the artificiality of the Linnaean system was appreciated so that during the 18th Century and early 19th Century considerable numbers of new genera were described. J.V.F.Lamouroux in 1813 was the first to separate the groups on the basis of colour, however this was not taken up by other botanists and it was Harvey who, in 1836, divided the algae into four major divisions solely on the basis of their pigmentation: Rhodospermae (red algae), Melanospermae (brown algae), Chlorospermae (green algae) and Diatomaceae (Dixon,1973 p. 232).
In 1883 and 1897 Schmitz separated the Rhodophyceae into two main groups. The first contained the Bangiales and the second the Nemoniales, Cryptonemiales
, Gigartinales and Rhodymeniales (Newton, 1931). The Rhodophyta are now arranged in the Orders: Porphyridiales, Goniotrichales, Erythropeltidales, Bangiales, Acrochaetiales, Colaconematales, Palmariales, Ahnfeltiales, Nemaliales, Gelidiales, Gracilariales, Bonnemaisoniales, Cryptonemiales, Hildenbrandiales, Corallinales, Gigartinales, Plocamiales, Rhodymeniales and Ceramiales. The Chlorophyta are arranged in the Orders: Chlorococcales, Microsporales, Chaetophorales, Phaeophilales, Ulvales, Prasiolales, Acrosiphoniales, Cladiphorales, Bryopsidales, Chlorocystidales, Klebsormidiales and Ulotrichales. The Heterokontophyta: Sphacelariales, Dictyotales, Ectocarpales, Ralfsiales, Utleriales, Sporochniales, Tilopteridales, Desmarestiales, Laminariales and the Fucales (Hardy and Guiry, 2006).
Recently (1990s) The Kingdom: Protoctista has been recommended, however, this has not been accepted by many authors.
Publications:-
De Valéra, M. 1958. A topographical guide to the seaweed of Co. Galway Bay with some brief notes on other districts on the west coast coast of Ireland. Institute for Industrial Standards and Rersearch Dublin, Dublin.
De Valéra, M. 1959. The Third International Seaweed Symposium at University College, Galway. 1958, Irish Naturalists' Journal 13: 18–19.
De Valéra, M. 1960. Interesting seaweeds from the shores of the Burren. Irish Naturalists' Journal. 13: 168.
De Valéra, M. * Cooke, P.J. 1979. Seaweed in Burren grykes. Irish Naturalists' Journal. 19: 435–436.
De Valéra, M., Pybus, C., Casley, B. & Webster, A. 1979. 1979. Littoral and benthic investigations on the west coast of Ireland.X. Marine algae of the northern shores of the Burren, C. Clare. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 79B: 259–269.
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
. Human interest in plants as food goes back into the origins of the species and knowledge of algae can be traced back more than two thousand years. However only in the last three hundred years has that knowledge evolved into a rapidly developing science.
Early days
The study of botanyBotany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
goes back into pre-history as plants were the food of people from the beginning of the human race. The first attempts at plant cultivation are believed to have been made shortly before 10,000 BC in Western Asia (Morton, 1981) and the first references to algae are to be found in early Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
. Records as far back as 3000 BC indicate that algae were used by the emperor of China as food (Huisman, 2000 p. 13). The use of Porphyra
Porphyra
Porphyra is a foliose red algal genus of laver, comprising approximately 70 species. It grows in the intertidal zone, typically between the upper intertidal zone and the splash zone in cold waters of temperate oceans. In East Asia, it is used to produce the sea vegetable products nori and gim ,...
in China dates back to at least A.D. 533–44 (Mumfard and Miura, 1988), there are also references in Roman and Greek literature. The Greek word for algae was "Phycos" whilst in Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times the name became Fucus
Fucus
Fucus is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world.-Description and life cycle:...
. There are early references to the use of algae for manure
Manure
Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...
. The first coralline algae
Coralline algae
Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls...
to be recognized as living organisms were probably Corallina, by Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
in the 1st century AD (Irvine and Chamberlain, 1994 p. 11).
The classification of plants suffered many changes since Theophrastus
Theophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
(372–287 B.C.) and Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
(384–322 B.C.) grouped them as "trees", "shrubs" and "herbs" (Smith, 1955 p. 1).
Little is known of botany during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
— it was the Dark Ages of botany.
The development of the study of phycology runs in a pattern comparable with, and parallel to, other biological fields but at a different rate. After the invention of the printing-press in the 15th century (with the publication of the first printed book: Gutenberg's Bible of 1488) education enabled people to read and knowledge to spread.
Exploration of the world and the advance of knowledge
Written accounts of the algae of South Africa were made by the Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries, however it is not clear to which species reference was being made (Huisman, 2000 p. 7).17th Century
In the 17th Century there was a great awakening of scientific interest all over Europe, and after the invention of the printing-press books on botany were published. Among them was the work of John RayJohn Ray
John Ray was an English naturalist, sometimes referred to as the father of English natural history. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after "having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him".He published important works on botany,...
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/ray.html who wrote in 1660: Catalogus Plantarum circa Cantabrigiam., this initiated a new era in the study of Botany (Smith, 1975 p. 4). Ray "influenced both the theory and the practice of botany more decisively than any other single person in the latter half of the seventeenth century" (Morton, 1981).
However no real progress was made in the scientific study of algae until the invention of the microscope
Microscope
A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...
— in about 1600. It was Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch tradesman and scientist from Delft, Netherlands. He is commonly known as "the Father of Microbiology", and considered to be the first microbiologist...
(1632–1723) who discovered bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
and saw the cell structure of plants. His unsystematic glimpses of plant structure, reported to the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
between 1678 and his death in 1723, produced no significant advances (Morton, 1981 p. 180).
As adventurers explored the world more species of all animals and plants were discovered, this demanded efforts to bring order out of this quickly accumulating knowledge.
The first Australian marine plant recorded in print was collected from Shark Bay
Shark Bay
Shark Bay is a World Heritage listed bay in Western Australia. The term may also refer to:* the locality of Shark Bay, now known as Denham* Shark Bay Marine Park* Shark Bay , a shark exhibit at Sea World, Gold Coast, Australia* Shire of Shark Bay...
on the Western Australian coast by William Dampier
William Dampier
William Dampier was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer...
who described many new species of Australian wildlife in the 17th century (Huisman, 2000 p. 7).
18th century
Before Carl von Linné (1707–1778) animals and plants had names, but it took him to arrange the names and group the plants of this EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
in some sort of order. Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
(Carl von Linné) http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html was a Swedish botanist, the son of a pastor of the Lutheran church, a physician and zoologist. He laid the foundations of modern biological systematics
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
and nomenclature in his Species Plantarum (1753). He adopted and popularized a binomial
Binomial nomenclature
Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
(or binary) system of designation (Morton, 1981) using one name as the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
and a second name as the species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
name both in Latin or Latinised. This specific name he
referred to as a trivial name nomen triviale consisting of a single word, normally a Latin adjective, but any single word would suffice, to identify a particular species, but not intended to describe it. He developed a coherent system for naming organisms and divided the plant kingdom into 25 classes (according to Smith p. 1 and p. 24 according to Dixon, 1973) (Smith, 1955 p. 1), one of which, the Cryptogamia, included all plants with concealed reproductive organs. He divided the Cryptogamia into four orders: Filices, Musci (mosses), Algae — which included lichens and liverworts and fungi (Smith, 1955 p. 1).
Examination for the reproductive structures had already started. In 1711, R.A.F de Réaumur
Réaumur
The Réaumur scale , also known as the "octogesimal division", is a temperature scale in which the freezing and boiling points of water are set to 0 and 80 degrees respectively...
gave an account of Fucus
Fucus
Fucus is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world.-Description and life cycle:...
in which noted the two types of external openings in the thallus: the non-sexual cryptostromata (sterile surface cavities) and the conceptacles (fertile cavities, immersed but with a surface opening) containing the sexual organs, which he thought were female flowers. With a lens he was able to see the oogonoa (the female sex organs) and the antheridia (the male sex organs) within the conceptacles, but he interpreted these as seeds (Morton, 1981 p. 245). Johann Hedwig
Johann Hedwig
Johann Hedwig , also seen as Johannes Hedwig or Latinised as Joannis Hedwig, was a German botanist notable for his studies of mosses , in particular the observation of sexual reproduction in the cryptogams.He was born in Romania, and studied medicine at the University of Leipzig,...
(1730–1799) provided further evidence of the sexual process in algae, and figured conjugation in Spirogyra
Spirogyra
Spirogyra is a genus of filamentous green algae of the order Zygnematales, named for the helical or spiral arrangement of the chloroplasts that is diagnostic of the genus. It is commonly found in freshwater areas, and there are more than 400 species of Spirogyra in the world. Spirogyra measures...
Hedwig in 1797. He also illustrated Chara (Charales
Charales
Charales is an order of pondweeds, freshwater algae in the division Charophyta. They are green plants believed to be the closest relatives of the green land plants. Linnaeus established the genus Chara in 1753.-Description:...
) and identified the antheridia and oogonia as male and female sexual organs (Morton, 1981 p. 323 & 357).
Harvey commented on ...motion, apparently spontaneous, among the seeds at the period of germination. Some found it difficult...to account for these anomalous motions. ...that the seeds becomes (how is not said) a perfect nimalcule, which after enjoying an animal existence for a time ceases to live animally, and, reverting to its original nature, gives birth to a vegetable. Thus, this seed was first vegetable, then animal, and then again vegeable,... . During the 18th Century there was a stormy controversy as to whether coralline algae were plants or animals. Up to the mid-18th century coralline algae (and coral animals) were generally treated as plants. By 1768 many, but by no means all authorities, considered them animal. Five years later, Harvey concluded that they were certainly of vegetable material he noted: "The question of the vegetable nature of Corallines, among which the Melobesia take rank, may now be considered as finally set at rest, by the researches of Kützing, Phillipi and Decaisne." (Harvey,1847, pl. 73).
The first scientific species description of a South African seaweed accepted for most nomenclatural purposes is that of Ecklonia maxima, published in 1757 as Fucus maximus (Stegenga et al., 1997).
Knowledge of North American Pacific algae begins with the 1791–95 expedition of Captain George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
(Papenfuss,1976 p. 21).
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist.- Life and career :Menzies was born at Easter Stix in the parish of Weem, in Perthshire. While working with his elder brother William at the Royal Botanic Gardens, he drew the attention of Dr John Hope, professor of botany at...
(1754–1842) was the appointed botanist on the expedition led by Captain George Vancouver in the ships Discovery and Chatham of 1791–1795 to the Pacific coast of North America and south-western Australia. The algae collected by Menzies were passed to Dawson Turner (1775–1858) who described and illustrated them in a four-volumed work published in 1808–1819. However Turner only referred to the taxa referable to Fucus
Fucus
Fucus is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world.-Description and life cycle:...
; either Menzies collected very few or he gave only a few to Turner. Three of these species described by Turner later became the types of new genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
(Papenfuss, 1976) and (Huisman, 2000) Turner also received plants from Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
(1773–1858) the botanist who accompanied Captain Matthew Flinders on the Investigator (1801–1805). This collection also included many plants from Australia (Huisman, 2000).
The real awakening of interest in American algae resulted from a visit by William Henry Harvey
William Henry Harvey
William Henry Harvey was an Irish botanist who specialised in algae.- Biography :William Henry Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father Joseph Massey Harvey, was a Quaker and prominent merchant...
in 1849–1850 when he visited areas from Florida to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and produced three volumes of Nereis Boreali-Americana. These gave an incentive to others to study algae (Taylor, 1972 p. 21).
The first collector of marine algae in Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
waters seems to have been J.M.Vahl
Jens Vahl
Jens Laurentius Moestue Vahl was a Danish botanist and pharmacist. He was son of the Danish-Norwegian botanist and zoologist Martin Vahl.Jens Vahl graduated as a pharmacist in 1819 and then started studying botany and chemistry....
who lived in Greenland from 1828 to 1836. Vahl's East Greenland species were not recorded until 1893 when Rosenvinge
Lauritz Kolderup Rosenvinge
Janus Lauritz Andreas Kolderup Rosenvinge was a Danish botanist and phycologist. He took his Ph.D. 1888 from the University of Copenhagen. He was docent of botany at the polytechnic from 1900, and extraordinary professor of botany the University of Copenhagen with focus on spore plants from 1916...
included them in his work of 1893 together with the species collected by Sylow (Lund, 1959). F.R.Kjellman
Frans Reinhold Kjellman
Frans Reinhold Kjellman was a Swedish botanist who specialized in marine phycology and is known in particular for his work on Arctic algae....
records only 12 species from East Greenland 4 of which are doubtful, these records are based on Zeller's list (Lund, 1959).
Early 19th Century
Carl Adolph AgardhCarl Adolph Agardh
Carl Adolph Agardh was a Swedish botanist specializing in algae, who was eventually appointed bishop of Karlstad.-Biography:...
was one of the most prominent algologists of all time, he was born in Sweden on 23 January 1785 and died on 28 January 1859. He was Professor of Botany at the University of Lund and later Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Karlstad Diocese (Papenfuss, 1976). Many species still show his name as the authority of the scientific name. He traveled widely in Europe visiting Germany, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and was the first to emphasize the importance of the reproductive characters of algae and use them to distinguish the different genera and families. His son, Jacob Georg Agardh
Jacob Georg Agardh
Jacob Georg Agardh was a Swedish botanist, phycologist, and taxonomist.-Biography:He was the son of Carl Adolph Agardh, and in 1854 was appointed professor of botany at Lund University...
(1813–1901), who became Professor of Botany at Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
in 1839, made a study of the life-histories of algae, described many new genera and species. It was to him that many workers sent specimens for determination and as donations. Because of this the herbarium at Lund is the most important algal herbaria in the world (Papenfuss, 1976).
The first records of algae from the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
were made by Jørgen Landt
Jørgen Landt
Jørgen Landt was a Danish priest, botanist and author, who published descriptions of the people and geography of the Faroe Islands....
in his book of 1800 where he mentions about 30 species. Following this, Hans Christian Lyngbye
Hans Christian Lyngbye
Hans Christian Lyngbye was a Danish priest and botanist, specialising in algae.-Life:Hans Christian Lyngbye was born in Aalborg, Denmark in 1782, the son of a teacher, Jens Michelsen Lyngbye. He attended the Latin school in Aalborg until 1802 when he took as his tutor a priest on the island of...
visited the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
in 1817 and published his work in 1819. In this, he described several new genera and species, some 100 new species were listed. Emil Rostrup
Emil Rostrup
Frederik Georg Emil Rostrup was a Danish botanist, mycologist and plant pathologist.From 1858, Emil Rostrup was a teacher at the paedagogical college Skårup Seminarium in then new subject natural history. He educated to-be school teachers for 25 years...
who visited the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
in 1867 listed ten new species and a total not far from 100. In 1895, Herman G. Simmons mentioned 125 species. In that year F. Børgesen
Frederik Børgesen
Fredrik Christian Emil Børgesen was a Danish botanist and phycologist. He graduated in botany from the University of Copenhagen and was subsequently employed as an assistant at the Botanical Museum . His doctoral thesis dealt with the marine algae of the Faroe Islands...
(1866–1956) started work and in 1902 published his work (Børgesen, 1902).
Jean Vincent Félix Lamouroux (1779–1825) was the first, in 1813, to separate the algae into groups on the basis of colour (Dixon and Irvine, 1977 p. 59). At this time all coralline algae were considered animals, it was R. Philippi who in 1837 published his paper in which he finally recognized that coralline algae were not animals and he proposed the generic names Lithophyllum and Lithothamnion (Irvine and Chamberlain, 1994 p. 11).
Freshwater algae are commonly treated separately from marine algae and may be considered not correctly placed in phycology. Lewis Weston Dillwyn
Lewis Weston Dillwyn
Lewis Weston Dillwyn, FRS was a British porcelain manufacturer, naturalist and Member of Parliament.He was born in Walthamstow, Essex, the eldest son of William Dillwyn and Sarah Dillwyn...
(1778–1855) "British Confervae" (1809) was one of the earliest attempts to bring together all that was then known on the British Freshwater algae .
Specimens of Anne E. Ball (1808–1872) have been found in both the Herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
of the Irish National Botanic Gardens
Irish National Botanic Gardens
The National Botanic Gardens are located in Glasnevin, 5 km north-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland...
, Dublin http://www.botanicgardens.ie/herb/herb.htm and the Ulster Museum
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
(BEL). A.E.Ball was an Irish algologist who corresponded with W.H. Harvey and whose records appear in his Phycologia Britannica. The specimens in Dublin do not contain any unusual or rare items. However, they are well documented.
W.H. Harvey
Willian Henry Harvey (1811–1866), Keeper of the HerbariumHerbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
and Professor in Botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, was one of the most distinguished algologists of his time (Papenfuss, 1976 p. 26). Apart from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
he visited South Africa, the Atlantic seaboard of America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as far south as the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
on the east coast of North America and Australia (1854–1856). Between 1853 to 1856 he visited Ceylon, Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and various parts of the South Pacific (Huisman, 2000 & Papenfuss, 1976). His collection in Australia resulted in one of the most extensive collections of marine plants and it inspired others (Huisman, 2000). He published: Nereis Australis Or Algae of the Southern Ocean in 1847–1849 and in 1846–51 his Phycologia Britannica appeared. His Nereis Boreali-Americana was published in three parts (1852–1858) this was the first, and still is (1976) is the only marine algal flora of North America as it includes taxa from the Pacific coast (Papenfuss, 1976 p. 27). His five-volume Phycologia Australica
Phycologia Australica
Phycologia Australica, written by William Henry Harvey, is one of the most important works on phycology of the 19th century.The work, published in five separate volumes between 1858 and 1863, is the result of Harvey’s extensive collecting along the Australian shores during a three year sabbatical...
was published in 1858 to 1863. These volumes remain to this day a most important reference to Australian algae (Huisman, 2000). His primary herbarium is in Trinity College, Dublin (TCD). However large collections of Harvey material are to be found in the Ulster Museum (BEL) (Morton, 1977; Morton, 1981); University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
(STA) and National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL), Melbourne, Australia (May, 1977). Many of the collectors of this period sent, and exchanged, specimens freely one to another, as a result Harvey's books show a remarkable knowledge of the distribution of algae elsewhere in the world. His Phycologia Britannica lists species recorded and collected from various parts of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. For example he notes William Thompson
William Thompson (naturalist)
William Thompson was an Irish naturalist celebrated for his founding studies of the natural history of Ireland, especially in ornithology and marine biology. Thompson published numerous notes on the distribution, breeding, eggs, habitat, song, plumage, behaviour, nesting and food of birds...
(1805–1852), William McCalla
William McCalla
William McCalla was an Irish botanist. McCalla collected algae and flowering plants, his records are included in Harvey's Phycologia Britannica. His specimens are in the Ulster Museum and Trinity College, Dublin....
(c.1814–1849), John Templeton
John Templeton
Sir John Marks Templeton was an American-born British stock investor, businessman and philanthropist.-Biography:...
(1766–1825) and D. Landsborough (1779–1854) who collected, as he did, from distinct sites in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The collections of these botanists, and many others, are represented separately by collections in the Ulster Museum
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
(BEL).
Sir William Jackson Hooker
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker, FRS was an English systematic botanist and organiser. He held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, and was the first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He enjoyed the friendship and support of Sir Joseph Banks for his exploring,...
(1785–1865) was a life-long friend of Harvey (Papenfuss, 1976 p. 26), he was appointed Professor of Botany at Glasgow University in 1820 and became Director in Kew
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
1841–1865. Hooker recognized the talent in Harvey and lent him books, encouraged and invited him to write the section on algae in his British Flora. as well as the section on algae for The Botany of Captain Beechey's Voyage (Papenfuss, 1976). Margaret Gatty (1809–1873) (née Margaret Scott) (author of British Seaweeds, 1863), and others, corresponded with William Henry Harvey (Desmond, 1977 and Evans, 2003).
Late 19th century
Much work was done in this period by many workers and the many specimens became very valuable. Harvey's specimens, are to be found in at least several herbaria as well as those of other phycologists whose names are to be found in historic publications.In the same period Friedrich Traugott Kützing (1807–1893) in Germany described more new genera than anyone either before or after (Chapman, 1968 p. 13). His publications span the period 1841 to 1869 and added materially to knowledge of algae of cold waters of the Arctic seas. Some of his specimens are stored in the Ulster Museum Herbarium (BEL) catalogued: F1171; F10281–F10318. In 1883 Frans Reinhold Kjellman
Frans Reinhold Kjellman
Frans Reinhold Kjellman was a Swedish botanist who specialized in marine phycology and is known in particular for his work on Arctic algae....
, Professor of Botany at Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
, published The Algae of the Arctic Sea. He divided the "Arctic Sea" into different regions which surround the North Pole (Kjellman, 1883). Further research work on the marine algae of the world included: Charles Lewis Anderson (1827–1910) who collaborated with William Gilson Farlow
William Gilson Farlow
William Gilson Farlow was an American botanist, born in Boston, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard , where, after several years of European study, he became adjunct professor of botany in 1874 and professor of cryptogamic botany in 1879.In 1899 he was president of the American Society of...
and with Professor Daniel Cady Eaton
Daniel Cady Eaton
Daniel Cady Eaton was an American botanist and author. He gained his bachelor's degree at Yale University, then went on to Harvard University where he studied with Asa Gray...
to produce on the first exsiccatae of North American Algae (Papenfuss, 1976). Edward Morell Holmes (1843–1930), was an expert on seaweeds, mosses, liverworts and lichens, specimens were sent to him from all over the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, as well as from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Florida, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, France, Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, Cylon
Cylon
-Places:United States*Cylon, Wisconsin, a town in St. Croix County, Wisconsin*Cylon , Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in St Croix County, Wisconsin-Science fiction:...
and Australia. He also exchanged specimens (Furley, 1989). and some are in the herbarium of the Ulster Museum (BEL).
George Clifton
George Clifton
George Clifton was an English collector of seaweed specimens, active in Australia.Clifton was born in England and served in its Royal Navy, he emigrated to Australia in 1851...
(1823–1913) an Australian phycologist is mentioned in Harvey
Harvey
- People :* Harvey , a given name and family name* William Harvey, 16th century physician, first to describe circulation of blood- Places :In the United States* Harvey, Illinois* Harvey, Iowa* Harvey, Louisiana* Harvey, Michigan* Harvey, North Dakota...
's Memoirs, as the Superintendent of the Water Police in Perth, West Australia sent algal specimens to Harvey (Blackler, H.1977). In these years there were many workers in this field: W.G. Farlow, mentioned above, who was appointed in 1879 Professor of Cryptogamic Botany at University of Harvard (U.S.A.) in 1879 and published, among other works, the Marine algae of New England and Adjacent Coasts.; in 1876 John Erhard Areschoug, a Swedish Professor of Botany at Upsalla University, reported on some brown algae
Brown algae
The Phaeophyceae or brown algae , is a large group of mostly marine multicellular algae, including many seaweeds of colder Northern Hemisphere waters. They play an important role in marine environments, both as food and for the habitats they form...
collected in California by Gustavus A. Eisen (Papenfuss. 1976). George W.Traill (1836–1897) was a clerk in the Standard Life Company in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
where he worked long hours, yet he was one of the greatest authorities on Scottish algae. Despite bad health he was an indefatigable collector. In 1892 he gave his collection to the Herbarium of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens (Furley, 1989).
Mikael Heggelund Foslie (M.Foslie) (1855–1905) published 69 papers between 1887–1909. During this time he increased the number of species and forms (of corallines) from 175 to 650 (Irvine and Chamberlain, 1994). After his death his collection of specimens was purchased by the Museum of the Royal Norwegian Society for Sciences and Letters (Thor et al., 2005) and there is a small collection of his in the Ulster Museum Herbarium: (Collection No. 42) entitled: Algae Norvegicae (Ulster Museum Herbarium catalogue (BEL): F10319–F10334). F.Heydrich also described 84 taxa and was a bitter foe of Foslie. This left a legacy of complicated and still unresolved problems.
It was in the 19th Century that the true nature of lichens, as organisms consisting of an alga and a fungus in specific association, was demonstrated by Schwendener in 1867. This removed a source of confusion in morphology and classification (Morton, 1981 p. 432). It was in this period (1859) that Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
(1809–1882) published his book on evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
:On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,....
20th century
In 1895 Børgesen started his study of the Faeroe Islands and published his work in 1902. Later between 1920 and 1936 he published his research on the algae of the Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
In 1935 and 1945 Felix Eugen Fritsch
Felix Eugen Fritsch
Felix Eugen Fritsch FRS was a British biologist.Fritsch started his career at the University of Munich before moving to research at University College London and also the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May, 1932 and won their Darwin Medal in 1950...
(1879–1954) published in two volumes his treatise: The Structure and Reproduction of the Algae. These two volumes detail virtually all that was then known about the morphology and reproduction of the algae. However knowledge of algae has so greatly increased since then it would be impossible for these to be brought up-to-date. Nevertheless reference is often made to them. Other valuable works published in the 1950s include Cryptogamic Botany. written by Gilbert Morgan Smith (1885–1959), the algal volume (no.1) was published in 1955. In the following year (1956), Die Gattungen der Rhodophyceen. by Johan Harald Kylin (1879–1949) was published posthumously. Other phycologists who contributed massively to the knowledge of algae include: Elmer Yale Dawson (1918–1966) who published over 60 papers on the algae of the North American Pacific seas (Papenfuss, 1976).
Development of public awareness
The number of books published in the mid to late 19th century shows how interest in the natural world developed. Books on algae were written by: Isabella Gifford (1853) The Marine Botanist..., some of her specimens are in the Ulster Museum; D. Landsborough (c.1779–1854) A Popular History of British Seaweeds,... third edition published in 1857; Louisa Lane Clarke (c.1812–1883) The Common Seaweeds of the British Coast and Channel Islands;... in 1865; S.O.Gray (1828–1902) British Seaweeds:... published 1867 and W.H.Grattann British Marine Algae:...published about 1874. These books were for the common people.In 1902 Edward Arthur Lionel Batters (1860–1907) published "A catalogue of the British Marine algae." (Batters, 1902). In this he detailed records of algae found on the shores of the British Isles with the localities. This was the start of a new approach, the bringing together of records, detailed keys, checklists and mapping schemes.
The process accelerated in the 20th century. Lilly Newton (née Batten) (1893–1981) Professor in Botany at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and Professor Emeritus in 1931 wrote: A Handbook of the British Seaweeds. This was the first, and for quite a time, the only book for identification of seaweeds in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
using a botanical key. In 1962 Eifion Jones
Eifion Jones
William Eifion Jones was a Welsh marine botanist, noted for his study of marine algae.He was born and brought up in Aberystwyth and studied botany at the University of Wales under Professor Lilly Newton....
published: A key to the genera of the British seaweeds. This small booklet provided a valuable source in the period before the valuable series Seaweeds of the British Isles was produced by the British Museum (Natural History) or The Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
.
Research advanced so quickly that the need for an up-to-date checklist became apparent. Mary Parke (1902–1981), who was a founder member of the British Phycological Society, produced a preliminary checklist of British marine algae in 1953, corrections and additions of this were published in 1956, 1957 and 1959. In 1964 M.Parke and Peter Stanley Dixon (1929–1993) published a revised check-list, a second revision of this was produced in 1968 and a third revision in 1976. Distribution was added to the checklist in 1986 with G.R.South and I.Tittley's A Checklist and Distributional Index of the Benthic Marine Algae of the North Atlantic Ocean. In 2003 A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland was published by Gavin Hardy and Michael Guiry with a revised edition in 2006 . This shows how rapidly knowledge of algae, at least in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, advanced. First efforts had been made by interested biologists and people capable of identifying the algae, this required books using the botanical names. Botanical keys to identify the plants then developed, followed by checklists. As more information was brought to light by interested workers, some volunteers, the checklists were improved and eventually a mapping scheme brought together all this information. The same pattern of knowledge developed with birds, mammals and flowering plants, though to a different time-scale and knowledge in other parts of the world has developed to this degree.
Numbers and checklists
As records were collected the need to draw all the information together advanced. Checklists and annotated checklists were produced and updated so the actual numbers of different species became more precise. At first this was quite local. Threlkeld, in 1726, produced the first attempt at an enumeration of Irish Algae and in 1802 William Tighe published his "Marine plants observed at the County of Wexford," it included 58 marine and 2 freshwater species. In 1804 Wade published Plantae Rariores in Hibernia Inventae, in which 51 species of marine and 4 species of freshwater algae were enumerated. In the north of Ireland John TempletonJohn Templeton (botanist)
John Templeton was an early Irish naturalist and botanist. He is often referred to as the "Father of Irish Botany". He was the father of naturalist, artist and entomologist Robert Templeton.-Biography:...
and William Thompson
William Thompson (naturalist)
William Thompson was an Irish naturalist celebrated for his founding studies of the natural history of Ireland, especially in ornithology and marine biology. Thompson published numerous notes on the distribution, breeding, eggs, habitat, song, plumage, behaviour, nesting and food of birds...
were at work publishing on the algae of Ireland. In 1836 Mackay published his Flora Hibernica including 296 species. Adams, in his synopsis of 1908, listed a total of marine species reaching 843.
In more localised lists Adams (in 1907) listed the species of County Antrim noted that of the 747 species included in "Batter's List" he recorded 211 species from the Co. Antrim coast. In 1907 a list of marine aslgae from Lambay Island
Lambay Island
Lambay lies off the coast of Fingal / north County Dublin, Ireland in the Irish Sea. It is located north of Ireland's Eye at and is the easternmost point of the Republic of Ireland...
(County Dublin) was published by Batters. In 1960 A preliminary list of the marine algae of Galloway coast was published.
At the international level there are well over 3,000 species of alga in Australia.
Identification
As the study and identification of the different species became more extensive it became clear that identification was not at all easy. Harvey's 1846–51 Phycologia Britannica. along with his other publications makes no effort to provide "keys" to help in the identification. In 1931 Newton's Handbook which gave the first key to assist in the identification of algae of the British Isles, in the same year Knight and Park gave a key in their "Manx Algae." Eifion JonesEifion Jones
William Eifion Jones was a Welsh marine botanist, noted for his study of marine algae.He was born and brought up in Aberystwyth and studied botany at the University of Wales under Professor Lilly Newton....
in 1962, wrote a key to the genera of British seaweeds. Others soon followed: Dickinson wrote one entitled British Seaweeds. and Adey and Adey (1973) gave keys to the identification of the Corallinaceae of the British Isles. Abott and Hollenberg, in 1976, published keys to the identification of algae of California.
Evolution of classification in the algae
Linnaeus's "sexual system" (Linnaeus, 1754) in which he grouped plants according to the number of stamens and carpels in their flowers, although wholly artificial was advantageous in that a newly discovered plant could be fitted in amongst those already known. He divided the plant kingdom into 25 classes, one of which was the Cryptogamia — plants with "concealed reproductive organs" (see above) (Smith, 1955). Linnaeus accepted 14 genera of algae of which only four, Conferva, UlvaSea lettuce
The sea lettuces comprise the genus Ulva, a group of edible green algae that is widely distributed along the coasts of the world's oceans. The type species within the genus Ulva is Ulva lactuca Linnaeus, "lactuca" meaning lettuce...
, Fucus
Fucus
Fucus is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world.-Description and life cycle:...
and Chara, contained organisms now regarded as algae (Dixon, 1973 p. 231). As a consequence of the great increase in the number of species the artificiality of the Linnaean system was appreciated so that during the 18th Century and early 19th Century considerable numbers of new genera were described. J.V.F.Lamouroux in 1813 was the first to separate the groups on the basis of colour, however this was not taken up by other botanists and it was Harvey who, in 1836, divided the algae into four major divisions solely on the basis of their pigmentation: Rhodospermae (red algae), Melanospermae (brown algae), Chlorospermae (green algae) and Diatomaceae (Dixon,1973 p. 232).
In 1883 and 1897 Schmitz separated the Rhodophyceae into two main groups. The first contained the Bangiales and the second the Nemoniales, Cryptonemiales
Cryptonemiales
The Cryptonemiales is a defunct algal order; it is synonymous with the Halymeniales and has significant overlap with the Nemastomatales....
, Gigartinales and Rhodymeniales (Newton, 1931). The Rhodophyta are now arranged in the Orders: Porphyridiales, Goniotrichales, Erythropeltidales, Bangiales, Acrochaetiales, Colaconematales, Palmariales, Ahnfeltiales, Nemaliales, Gelidiales, Gracilariales, Bonnemaisoniales, Cryptonemiales, Hildenbrandiales, Corallinales, Gigartinales, Plocamiales, Rhodymeniales and Ceramiales. The Chlorophyta are arranged in the Orders: Chlorococcales, Microsporales, Chaetophorales, Phaeophilales, Ulvales, Prasiolales, Acrosiphoniales, Cladiphorales, Bryopsidales, Chlorocystidales, Klebsormidiales and Ulotrichales. The Heterokontophyta: Sphacelariales, Dictyotales, Ectocarpales, Ralfsiales, Utleriales, Sporochniales, Tilopteridales, Desmarestiales, Laminariales and the Fucales (Hardy and Guiry, 2006).
Recently (1990s) The Kingdom: Protoctista has been recommended, however, this has not been accepted by many authors.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Máirin de Valéra (1912–1984). Professor of Botany at University College, Galway (1962–1978).
Publications:-
De Valéra, M. 1958. A topographical guide to the seaweed of Co. Galway Bay with some brief notes on other districts on the west coast coast of Ireland. Institute for Industrial Standards and Rersearch Dublin, Dublin.
De Valéra, M. 1959. The Third International Seaweed Symposium at University College, Galway. 1958, Irish Naturalists' Journal 13: 18–19.
De Valéra, M. 1960. Interesting seaweeds from the shores of the Burren. Irish Naturalists' Journal. 13: 168.
De Valéra, M. * Cooke, P.J. 1979. Seaweed in Burren grykes. Irish Naturalists' Journal. 19: 435–436.
De Valéra, M., Pybus, C., Casley, B. & Webster, A. 1979. 1979. Littoral and benthic investigations on the west coast of Ireland.X. Marine algae of the northern shores of the Burren, C. Clare. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 79B: 259–269.
- Edward Batters (1860–1907). B.A.; FLS 1883
- Elmer Yale Dawson (1918–1966).
- Kathleen M. Drew Baker (...1925–1927...). University of Manchester. President of the British Phycological Society 1953.
- Margaret Constance Helen Blackler (1902–1981). Assistant Keeper of Botany, Liverpool Museum (1933–1945). In 1947 joined staff University St Andrews.
- Peter Stanley Dixon (1929–1993). Professor Emeritus of Biology at University of California.
- William Dwyn Isaac (1905–1995).
- Harald Kylin (...1906–1949...). Author: Die Gattengen der Rhodophyceen. 1956 CWK Gleerups Förlag,Lund. Specimens in Ulster Museum....
- George Russell (...1983–1984...). President of British Phycological Society 1983–1984.
Further reading
- Caldwell, I. 2008. John Stackhouse (1742–1819) and the Linnean Society. The Linnean. 24:37 - 51.
- Darwin, C. R. 1859. On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection,... London: John Murray, London.
- Farlow, W.G. 1881. The marine algae of New England. Report of U.S. Fish Commission 1879 :Appendix A-1, 1–210.
- Fritsch, F.E. 1935. The Structure and Reproduction of the Algae. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- Fritsch, F.E. 1945. The Structure and Reproduction of the Algae. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- Gatty, M. 1863. British Seaweeds. London.
- Gifford, I. 1853. The Marine Botanist;... Longman and Co., London.
- Grattan, W.H. (1874?) British Marine Algae: London.
- Gray, S.O. 1867. British Seaweeds:... London.
- Hardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2003. A Checklist and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. British Phycological, London.
- Hardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2006. A Checklist and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland - Revised Edition. British Phycological, London. ISBN 3-906166-35-X
- Harvey, W.H. 1833. Algae, in W.J.Hooker and G.A.W.Arnott, The Botany of Captain Beechey's Voyage... London. pp. 163–165.
- Harvey, W.H. 1846–1851. Phycologia Britannica,... London.
- Harvey, W.H. 1847–1849. Nereis Australis Or Algae Of the Southern Ocean. Reeve, London.
- Harvey, W.H. 1852–1858. Pt 1–111 ... Nereis boreali-americana... Smithsonian Contr. to Knoweledge.
- Hooker, W.J. 1833. Cryptomaia Algae [pp. 264–322] in. Hooker, W.J. The English Flora of Sir James Edward Smith. Class xxiv, Cryptogamia. Vol V, Part 1.
- Landsborough, D. 1857. A Popular History of British Seaweeds,... London: Reeve, Benham & Reeve.
- Parke, M. 1953. A preliminary check-list of British marine algae. J.Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 32: 497–520.
- Parke, M. and Dixon, P.S. 1964. A revised check-list of British marine algae. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 44: 499–542.
- Parke, M. and Dixon, P.S. 1968. Check-list of British marine algae - second revision. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 48: 783–832.
- Parke, M. and Dixon, P.S. 1976. Check-list of British marine algae - third revision. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 56: 527–594.
- Ross, H.C.G. and Nash, R. 1985. The development of natural history in early nineteenth century Ireland. From Linnaeus to Darwin: commentaries on the history of biology and geology. Society of Natural History, London. 1985.
- South, G.R. and Tittley, I. 1986. A Checklist and Distributional Index of the Benthic Marine Algae of the North Atlantic Ocean. St Andrews and London.
External links
- http://users.ugent.be/phycology/harvey/ W.H.H. Phycologia Australica
- http://www.botanicgardens.ie/ National Botanic Gardens of Ireland.
- http://www2.nrm.se/fbo/hist/linnaeus/linnaeus.html.en Carl Linnaeus Botanical History
- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html Carl Linnaeus
- http://www.algaebase.org/ listing the world's algae
- http://www.seaweed.ie/ Seaweed Site
- http://www.mba.ac.uk/ Marine Biological Assoc. of UK
- http://www.brphycsoc.org/ British Phycological Society
- http://www.intphycsoc.org/ International Phycological Society
- http://www.schweizerbart.de/j/algological-studies/ Algological Studies is an international journal of phycological
- http://www.psaalgae.org/ Phycological Society of America
- http://www.phycology.net/ The Phycology.Net
- http://www.tcd.ie/botany/herbarium
See also
- AlgaeAlgaeAlgae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
- BotanyBotanyBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
- History of biologyHistory of biologyThe history of biology traces the study of the living world from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of biology as a single coherent field arose in the 19th century, the biological sciences emerged from traditions of medicine and natural history reaching back to ayurveda, ancient Egyptian...
- History of botanyHistory of botanyThe history of botany examines the human effort to understand life on Earth by tracing the historical development of the discipline of botany—that part of natural science dealing with organisms traditionally treated as plants....
- List of botanists