Hydroclathrus

Key takeaways

Hydroclathrus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hydroclathrus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hydroclathrus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hydroclathrus is a genus of perforate (pierced with holes) brown alga, of the phylum Ochrophyta and the class Phaeophyceae.

Taxonomy The genus Hydroclathrus belongs to the order Ectocarpales, and the family Scytosiphonaceae. This genus currently has six taxonomically accepted species:

Hydroclathrus clathratus (C.Agardh) M.HoweHydroclathrus minutus Santiañez & KogameHydroclathrus rapanuii Santiañez, Macaya & KogameHydroclathrus tenuis C.K.Tseng & Lu BaroenHydroclathrus tilesii (Endlicher) Santiañez & M.J.WynneHydroclathrus tumulis Kraft & Abbott

Morphology

Thalli The thalli of Hydroclathrus are vesicular or irregular ovate that later becomes hollow with many pores, giving them a net-like appearance (clathrate). Young thalli are attached first to the substrate by rhizoid, but when mature, they detached from the substrate and developed into a complex network with rounded holes (0.5–2 cm in diameter) with involute margins. Thalli exhibits yellow-brown coloration.

Internal morphology The cross-section of the thalli comprises a network of about 600-900 micros thick. Like other seaweeds, it is composed of a cortex and medulla; small, cuboidal cortical cells about 5-9 microns with chromatophores, while the larger medullary cells (100-130 microns) are colorless.

Reproductive structure The plurangia of Lobophora is biseriate and scattered throughout the surface of the thalli.

Life history Research determined that Hydroclathrus clathratus, together with another seaweed, Colpomenia sinuosa, displays a heteromorphic reproductive cycle. There is an alternation between erect thalli with plurilocular zoidangia and prostrate thalli having both ectocarpoid plurilocular and unilocular zoidangia. Plurizoids produced by both erect and prostrate thalli become prostrate thalli. On the other hand, unizoids develops into erect thalli. At long day conditions, rostrate thalli produced plurilocular zoidangia, while at short day conditions, unilocular zoidangia are produced between 10–20 °C (50–68 °F).

Distribution The genus Hydroclathrus is found throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. They inhabit shallow intertidal waters, and during the peak season, they grow in high density at various ecosystems such as, seagrass beds and coral reefs.

Ecology and impacts Hydroclathrus clathratus is among the macro-benthic seaweeds that release essential organic nutrients (dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and nitrogen) to the coral reefs. In a study, the seaweeds exuded DOC and POC in amounts of 12.2 ± 2.1 and 4.2 ± 0.3 mg organic C m−² algae surface area h− 1, respectively. Moreover, release of organic matter is greatly influence by functional properties, e.g. algal growth or life strategy. It is highly correlated with seasonal and depth mediated variations such as temperature and light availability. This further validates the role of seaweeds in marine biogeochemical cycles, and the release of organic nutrients to coral reef systems.

Human use Hydroclathrus is commonly used for human consumption in the form of salads, and agriculture applications such as animal feeds and fertilizer A variety of natural products are found in the genus Hydroclathrus similar with other brown seaweeds. These are: fatty acids; minerals: cadmium, copper, mercury, Iodine, nitrogen, nickel, lead, and zinc; phytohormones: auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin; pigments: carotene, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, fucoxanthin; polysaccharides/simple sugars: alginic acid, fucoidan, and laminarin; protein; sugar alcohol: mannitol; and vitamins: folic and folinic acid. For medicinal application, antiviral polysaccharides were extracted from Hydroclathrus clathratus. These are H3-a1 and H3-b1. In addition, the extracts' derivatives were observed to have anticoagulant properties. Furthermore, Hydroclathrus polysaccharide, H3-a1, was observed to have antitumor potential. It suppresses sciatic Sarcoma 180 tumor growth and prolonged the life span of mice in laboratory experiments by inducing increased tumor necrosis factor-alpha level in mouse serum. However, further studies are needed to determine its effectiveness for as a medicinal product. Other potential medicinal use for Hydroclathrus, is its antimicrobial property observed in-vitro settings. Potential for application for environment utilization, particularly for solid waste management for wastewater treatment, were also explored. The residue powder of Hydroclathrus clathratus after being extracted most of its active components in methanol were used as absorbent material for wastewater treatment from excess heavy metals such as cadmium and copper. This provided new insights on the potentiality of use of seaweed as a treatment tool for wastewater and develop efforts in resource management.

References

External links Images Archived 2021-10-27 at the Wayback Machine of Hydroclathrus at Algaebase

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hydroclathrus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hydroclathrus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hydroclathrus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hydroclathrus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hydroclathrus

In research: Hydroclathrus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hydroclathrus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hydroclathrus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Brown algae genera, Ectocarpales, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hydroclathrus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Hydroclathrus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hydroclathrus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hydroclathrus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hydroclathrus in simple terms?

Hydroclathrus is a genus of perforate (pierced with holes) brown alga, of the phylum Ochrophyta and the class Phaeophyceae. Taxonomy The genus Hydroclathrus belongs to the order Ectocarpales, and the family Scytosiphonaceae.

Why does Hydroclathrus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hydroclathrus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hydroclathrus.