2003/08/01 by Hillary S. Hayden, Jaanika Blomster, Christine A. Maggs +3 · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Marine and coastal plant biology #Bryophyte Studies and Records #Isotope Analysis in Ecology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/1364253031000136321
openalex publication_date 2003/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Ulva, one of the first Linnaean genera, was later circumscribed to consist of green seaweeds with distromatic blades, and Enteromorpha Link was established for tubular forms. Although several lines of evidence suggest that these generic constructs are artificial, Ulva and Enteromorpha have been maintained as separate genera. Our aims were to determine phylogenetic relationships among taxa currently attributed to Ulva, Enteromorpha, Umbraulva Bae et I.K. Lee and the monotypic genus Chloropelta C.E. Tanner, and to make any nomenclatural changes justified by our findings. Analyses of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer DNA (ITS nrONA) (29 ingroup taxa including the type species of Ulva and Enteromorphat, the chloroplast-encoded rbcL gene (for a subset of taxa) and a combined data set were carried out. All trees had a strongly supported clade consisting of all Ulva, Enteromorpha and Chloropelta species, but Ulva and Enteromorpha were not monophyletic. The recent removal of Vmbraulva olivascens (PJ.L. Dangeard) Bae et I.K. Lee from Ulvu is supported, although the relationship of the segregate genus Umhraulva to Ulvaria requires further investigation. These results, combined with earlier molecular and culture data, provide strong evidence that Ulva, Enteromorpha and Chloropelta are not distinct evolutionary entities and should not be recognized as separate genera. A comparison of traits for surveyed species revealed few synapomorphies. Because Ulva is the oldest name, Enteromorpha and Chloropclta are here reduced to synonymy with Ulva, and new combinations are made where necessary.