Biological Sciences

Researcher: Dr Yvonne Chamberlain

I specialise in the taxonomy of red seaweeds belonging to the family Corallinaceae. These seaweeds are characterised by the presence of calcium carbonate crystals in the cell wall which gives them a hard texture. They are regarded as the seaweed equivalents of animal corals. These algae are present in seas throughout the world and they vary in form from hard, massive structures to delicate crusts growing epiphytically on fleshy seaweeds and marine flowering plants such as Zostera. They are common on tropical coral reefs where it is thought that they help to cement the corals and prevent disintegration of coral communities. The main geographical areas in which I have worked are the British Isles and South Africa. Among 70 publications I collaborated (1994) with Mrs L.M.Irvine to produce a Flora volume including the crustose coralline algae of the British Isles.
At present I am studying crustose coralline species from the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific.
In recent years the development of scanning electron microscopy has greatly enhanced the study of this group, adding to the earlier techniques of decalcification in order to cut sections to examine structural and reproductive details.