Although Walter Adey’s specialty is coralline algae (calcified, lichen-like red algae that grow from the tropics to Arctic marine waters), he has carried out extensive field work from Arctic to tropical North Atlantic and Caribbean on a wide range of seaweeds. He has concentrated his research on ecological studies using quantitative analyses of biomass and area cover.
Fig. A (click to enlarge)
Diagramatic representation of a portion of the Thermogeographic Model developed by Dr. Adey and Dr. Robert Steneck of the University of Maine and published in the Journal of Phycology in 2001. The Model shows how concentrations of coastal area at different temperatures over the last 3 million years have produced regions that are known to also produce a rich biota (biogeographic regions). The blue contours show the abundance of subarctic coralline algal species relative to the Model.
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Fig. B (click to enlarge)
Cellular growth patterns in several genera and species of Subarctic coralline algae. The three genera shown have very different patterns for forming and growing new cells. Also, species of the same genus (Lithothamnion) show different cell sizes as minor variations on the common generic pattern. This study of biosystematics links algal structure and evolution with function in complex ecosystems.
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Fig. C
Preparing to dive in Labrador to harvest seaweeds from meter square quadrats of rocky bottom. The biomass data from hundreds of quadrats from Labrador to Cape Cod are being used to further test the Thermogeographic Model, the validity of which was previously demonstrated by percent cover of coralline algae on rocky bottoms.
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Fig. D
Sorting seaweeds from a harvest quadrat aboard the RV Alca i. Each species is separated, weighed and logged to develop coastal and depth distribution patterns. Selected representative specimens are mounted on herbarium sheets as vouchers and fragments are dried in silica gel for genetic study. With seaweeds, this kind of work must be carried out shortly after collection and has led to the “floating laboratory” concept.
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Fig. E (click to enlarge)
Abundance of principal intertidal seaweeds in the core western Atlantic Subarctic centered on the Strait of Belle Isle between Newfoundland and Labrador. Numbers are grams per m2. Based on data collected from 2003-2007, diagrams are being developed for the whole coastal depth range of seaweeds (up to about 30m depth) and for a variety of subregions from Labrador to Cape Cod. Dr. Adey had earlier produced similar diagrams for coralline algal bottom for coralline algal bottom cover over the coasts of the entire colder North Atlantic.
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