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Seaweed diseases have been reported in both wild and cultivated seaweed species worldwide. However, reports on tropical seaweed diseases are uncommon and are often focused on farmed species. In the Philippines, seaweed diseases have been reported in economically important species such as Eucheuma, Kappaphycus, and Halymenia. Regarding Halymenia, the occurrence of white rot disease has been reported on laboratory-reared and open sea-outplanted individuals. Here, I report for the first time the occurrence of white rot disease on Halymenia durvillei as observed in the wild. While the disease may have detrimental effects, I hypothesize that the disease and the subsequent breaking of branches may play a role in the dispersal and reproductive success of H. durvillei. Nonetheless, studies on the bio-ecology of its pathogen and the impacts of the disease should be conducted considering the commercial potential of H. durvillei farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Records of taxa of benthic marine macroalgae in the Philippines continue to increase as molecularbased biodiversity and systematics research involving seaweed specimens collected from various localities in the country continue to grow. Several molecular systematics studies on seaweeds within the last decade also resulted in taxonomic, nomenclatural, and classification changes, consequently affecting our knowledge and understanding of the biodiversity of the Philippine seaweed flora. Moreover, global efforts to make biodiversity resources that are deposited in various herbaria openly available through online databases provide a good opportunity to reassess our current foundational biodiversity knowledge on these ecologically and economically important marine resources. Herein, we provide an updated checklist of Philippine seaweeds by integrating results of recent biodiversity and systematics studies and by perusing open-access records of seaweeds collected from the Philippines that are deposited in foreign herbaria and/or found in online databases. We report a total of 1,065 seaweed taxa in the Philippines; this is composed primarily of 600 red seaweed taxa (Florideophyceae and Bangiophyceae, Rhodophyta), followed by 272 green seaweed taxa (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta), and by 193 brown seaweed taxa (Phaeophyceae, Ochrophyta). We added a total of 104 new records (including recently described species) to the latest checklist on Philippine seaweeds in 2013, more than half of which were derived from records of the collections deposited in foreign herbaria. The latter highlights the need to make herbarium collection records accessible and underscores the important role of herbaria (and museums in general) in documenting and preserving biodiversity resources of biodiversity hotspot areas such as the Philippines. We also reiterate here the call to increase support in building local expertise and funding on marine (seaweed) biodiversity and systematics research as these are crucial not only in documenting and conserving our marine biodiversity resources but also in developing them for their socio-economic values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brown algal family Scytosiphonaceae has recently received considerable attention resulting in the description of several new genera and species. However, members of the genus Scytosiphon and Petalonia remain polyphyletic. By integrating multi-gene phylogenetic data (mitochondrial cox3 and plastid psaA and rbcL genes) with their known morpho-anatomies and life histories, we herein resurrect Hapterophycus canaliculatus, currently considered a member of genus Scytosiphon, and transfer Scytosiphon tenellus to the genus Petalonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Morphological and anatomical evidence is presented to support the taxonomic judgment that Talarodictyon tilesii Endlicher is conspecific with Hydroclathrus stephanosorus Kraft in Kraft & Abbott. Because the former name has nomenclatural priority over the latter name, Hydroclathrus tilesii (Endlicher) comb. nov. is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new and putatively endemic species of Hydroclathrus, Hydroclathrus rapanuii, is described from the geographically isolated Easter Island in the southeastern Pacific based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic data. It is distinguished from other Hydroclathrus by thalli of unevenly furrowed thin membranes, and angular, block-like plurangial sori. Our phylogenetic analyses indicated that H. rapanuii is closely related to the generitype Hydroclathrus clathratus. We also report on the morphology and phylogeny of Chnoospora minima from Easter I. and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, noting the previously unreported presence of hollow portions in its medulla. Although not collected from Easter I., we herein propose the recognition of two new genera, Dactylosiphon gen. nov. and Pseudochnoospora gen. nov., based on our three-gene phylogeny and their known morphologies and anatomies. Dactylosiphon is based on the three species currently assigned to Colpomenia (C. bullosa, C. durvillei, and C. wynnei) that are genetically and morphologically (i.e. thalli with erect and finger-like tubes arising from a common saccate base) distinct from other members of Colpomenia. The monotypic genus Pseudochnoospora is represented by the decumbent, branching, and inter-adhesive species currently known as Chnoospora implexa. With the above proposals, we further increase the genus-level diversity of Scytosiphonaceae in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study that examined the impact of white rot disease and heavy infestation of epiphytes on the cultured red seaweed Halymenia durvillei Bory de Saint-Vincent.

Taxonomic observations on some Sargassum species in Alabat Island, Quezon are presented. These are based on collections made on the spot during an ecological survey on the Sargassum-dominated seaweed communities in the locality. Gross morphological characteristics of the species such as the type of holdfast, shape and nature of its branches, vesicles, leaves, nature and distribution of cryptostomata, and nature and form of receptacles were used to discriminate the different morphotypes. Free-hand sections of receptacles were made to ascertain the sex of the plant. Different morphotypes were identif ied up to species level when possible. Eight morphotypes were distinct, six of which were recognized, namely, Sargassum crassifolium J. Agardh, S. cristaefolium C. Agardh, S. kushimotense Yendo, S. gracillimum Reinbold, S. myriocystum J. Agardh, and S. polycystum C.A. Agardh. The two other remaining materials were unidentif ied and are described here in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]