Crustaceans help fertilize seaweed, research finds
The small crustacean Idotea balthica facilitates the dispersal of male gametes and fertilization in the red alga Gracilaria gracilis. They use dense, branching red algae for cover and feed on microalgae that grow on their surface. Credit: © Wilfried Thomas @Station Biologique de Roscoff, CNRS, SU, Roscoff, France The important role of insects in pollinating flowering plants is well known, but marine animal-assisted algae fertilization has hitherto been considered non-existent. A team led by a CNRS researcher from the French-Chilean Evolutionary Biology and Ecology research unit at Roscoff Marine Station has discovered that tiny crustaceans known as idoteas contribute to the reproductive cycle of the red alga Gracilaria gracilis. The scientists’ findings were published in Science . They suggest that animal-mediated fertilization is much older than previously thought. Are marine animals involved in the reproduction cycle of algae, such as poll