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C. VAN DEN HOEK, D. G. MANN and H. M. JAHNS. Algae. An Introduction to
Phycology
Article in European Journal of Phycology · May 1997
DOI: 10.1017/S096702629621100X
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Book reviews
Michael Guiry
a
The Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute, University College Galway
Published online: 03 Jun 2010.
To cite this article: Michael Guiry (1997) Book reviews, European Journal of Phycology, 32:2, 203-205, DOI:
10.1080/09670269710001737139
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Eur. J. Phycol. (1997), 32 : 203–205 Printed in the United Kingdom 203
Book reviews
C. VAN DEN HOEK, D. G. MANN and H. M. search but are seen as molecular biologists or even as
JAHNS. Algae. An Introduction to Phycology. microbiologists.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1995, The range of morphological diversity in the algae as
pp. xiv623. ISBN : 0 521 30419 9 (hardback) ; described here is truly extraordinary. Eleven divisions that
0 051 31687 1 (paperback). Price : £70.00 (hard) ; include 29 classes are listed. The so-called higher plants
£24.95 (soft). and Fungi together manage only 8 divisions with 18
classes. All extant animals are squeezed into 14 divisions
This is a completely revised English version of Christiaan (phyla). These simple figures are a testimony to the
van den Hoek’s Algen EinfuX rung in die Phykologie published extraordinary diversity of the algae and the resultant
by Georg Thieme Verlag in 1978 (a second, unrevised difficulty in trying to cover them in short courses. One can
edition appeared in 1984). The German edition was be absolutely certain, too, that we have not yet seen the
particularly popular as it came in a handy size, was well end of the description of new divisions and classes of
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organized and copiously illustrated, and dealt in a concise algae. Anyone who may think that phycologists have
and precise manner with the morphology and cytology of overstated the case for such a diversity of divisions and
the algae. The present text, although it has the same title, phyla has only got to look at the molecular evidence that
benefits from being in a larger format (in two columns) is accruing.
and, for many, from being in English. There is an excellent introduction using the daisy (Bellis
According to the authors (p. xiii), ‘ there has been an perennis L.) to illuminate the concept – surprisingly difficult
enormous increase in our knowledge of the cytoskeleton, for some students – of a hierarchy of systematic relation-
especially in relation to the flagellar apparatus and the ships. In the introduction there is also a particularly clear
processes of mitosis and cytokinesis ’ since the appearance account of the endosymbiosis, evolution and the place of
of the German editions. A complete revision of the algae in relation to other organisms. A very useful
Chlorophyta and major changes in the organization of summary of the characteristics of algal phyla is given in
other divisions (phyla) has been adopted. In some ways, tabular form. The remainder of the book then treats the
the subtitle of both this and the German editions is algae (including the Cyanophyta and Prochlorophyta,
misleading as this is an evolutionary treatise that is which may end up being merged) in a classical taxonomic
organized along classical taxonomic lines : physiology, sequence starting with the Blue-green algae and ending
ecology and applied phycology take second place with the Chlorophyta. Some placements are still not
throughout. Nevertheless, a huge amount of information entirely satisfactory. The Rhodophyta, as is usual, is
has been included, particularly from ultrastructural, cyto- placed near to the Cyanophyta whereas all the molecular
logical and molecular sources, making this a wonderful evidence now suggests (figs 32.1, 32.2, 32.3) that the red
text for an advanced undergraduate class and as a reference algae are very far removed from the blue-greens, and may
book for postgraduates. It also serves, as the authors claim have evolved from ancestors similar to the present-day
(p. xiv), as ‘ a modern overview of the algae and their glaucophytes and which possessed flagella.
classification ’. I would have preferred the subtitle ‘ Algae. A particular problem in respect of the origin of the
An Introduction to their Evolution ’ as this is exactly what Rhodophyta (p. 96) stems from the early use of what are
this book treats in such a fascinating and comprehensive now considered unreliable 5S rRNA sequences. In these,
manner. In a review of another, similar text (Christen- the Rhodophyta, in agreement with conventional wisdom,
sen’s Algae. Phycologia 34 : 252–253, 1995), I wondered appeared to have arisen before the evolution of 92
whether anyone would in future be able to provide flagella. More recent 28S sequences do not support such a
such an overview given the enormity of the task and primitive origin, instead suggesting that the Rhodophyta
the multitude of languages and publications involved. My evolved after the development of 92 flagella. The
wonder has, if anything, increased that the present authors authors conclude that the Glaucophyta (p. 97) ‘ could
have been able to deal with the explosive growth in perhaps be the only living descendants of the primeval,
algal literature recently. This leads me to reflect that flagellate ancestors of the red algae, apart from the red
the supposed lack of pure phycological appointments algae themselves ’. With the benefit of such potential
does not seem to have affected the steady increase in hindsight, one can only smile wryly at the designation of
quality phycological research. This is probably because some very early fossils as red algae merely because
many workers are not regarded in their departments or nothing else could have been around at that time ! Indeed,
institutes as doing what is essentially phycological re- some glaucophytan and other flagellates may soon be
Book reviews 204
reclassified with the red algae. May I also dare to suggest few genera placed in the Lomentariaceae and
that there may even be some brown-coloured flagellates Champiaceae.
that will ultimately be placed in the Phaeophyceae As only two genera are usually ascribed to the
(Fucophyceae). On the other hand, the Chlorara- Cutleriales (p. 190), Zanardinia can hardly be described as
chniophyta, even though it includes but two flagellates, ‘ exceptional ’ in its possession of gametophytes and
seems not to be aligned with any other group. sporophytes that are ‘ macrothalli ’. Gametophytes of
The Chlorophyta is thought to include 11 classes, Cutleria multifida are found north of the British Isles, not
although the Prasiolales is considered incertae sedis. ‘ on the south European coast of the Atlantic ’.
Chapter 31 includes a discussion of the traditional Superfluous hyphens occur from time to time (e.g. p.
classification of the green algae and the evidence for the 344, legend to fig. 21.10). There are other, similar small
new classification, including fossil, macromolecular, printing and factual errors but none of these unduly mar
chloroplast genome and single-copy-DNA-DNA hybrid- the book.
ization evidence. The weight of evidence in favour of Finally, I would like to congratulate the authors on a
such a classification is now overwhelming and, although superb textbook that will, like the algae it treats, stand the
some tinkering is still necessary, I am firmly of the opinion test of time.
that such a classification is fully justified. M D. G
Some 1 940 references are included. These are The Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute
meticulously researched and very clearly presented, but University College Galway
few are post-1990 and none are post-1992. This, I
understand, is due to delays at the publishers but may also
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be a result of the system of numbering references. I find it EILEEN J. COX. Identification of Freshwater Diatoms from
extraordinary in these days of instant multimedia com- Live Material. Chapman & Hall, London, 1996,
munications over the Internet via the World-Wide Web £35, 158 pp.
that publishers, even when they have access to text on
disk and vastly improved printing processes, do not seem Effective use of most diatom keys requires cells to be
to be able to produce books with anything approaching ‘ cleaned ’, so that cell wall features can be observed under
the speed necessary to keep up with the enormous high power on either light or electron microscopes.
outpouring of scientific literature. Many think that the Although this is a perfectly valid approach, it has meant
printed textbook will shortly become a thing of the past. that the characteristics of live cells have been largely
Many suggest that compact discs may be the solution, but ignored for taxonomic purposes. So, the publishing of a
much of what I have seen on CD is perfectly dreadful. I key based on live material has to be applauded.
doubt very much that the book as a means of com- The key includes most common freshwater diatoms
munication is doomed, but it would help if publishers found in the British Isles, which means that it is probably
could do things a little more rapidly rather than provide also suitable for northern Europe. It starts with a general
ammunition for the multimedia fanatics. introduction to diatom morphology and ecology (11
Some errors in a book of this size are inevitable. Figure pages), followed by a guide on how to use the key and
6.10 on p. 119 is part of fig. 7.1 on p. 125 and must be what cell features to look for. Next there is a preliminary
replaced in a future edition. Perhaps the correct figure key, which helps the beginner to separate an unknown
could be distributed with new copies of the book in the into one of 21 groups of genera (6 pages), which are not
interim ? (It is now available from CUP. Ed.) necessarily phylogenetically related. This leads on to the
The Japanese nori industry is described briefly on pp. major part of the book, which consists of a key that
65–66. The numbers are very outdated, although statistics distinguishes between taxa within these groups (83 pages).
on the Japanese and Chinese seaweed industries are The most common centric (7 pages) and pennate (76
difficult to come by. Zen-nori (a Japanese nori industry pages) freshwater diatom genera are included but not the
representative body) Reports for 1995 indicate that about rarer ones (e.g. Cymbellonitzschia). Finally, there is a section
35 000 people are employed in tending some 65 000 ha of with generic summaries and ecological notes on species
farms in Japan, and the total retail worth of the nori output (36 pages). Also, references are supplied to more specialist
in Japan is about US$1 billion. It is not true to say that texts (4 pages) that may be needed to confirm identi-
Mastocarpus and Chondrus (p. 52) are both important fications in cases where this is not possible on live material
sources of carrageenan ; only Chondrus from the Maritime alone. The author is well known for her excellent drawings
Provinces of Canada is used in any quantity, and Eucheuma and this shows in the clear, well laid out illustrations (36
and Kappaphykus from the Philippines are now the most composite figures).
important sources. Chondrus does not form the At present, a major limitation to the wider study of
‘ gonimocarps ’ in papillae (p. 88) ; only Mastocarpus does. diatoms is the lack of a reliable taxonomy. This is reflected
In the Rhodymeniales (p. 91) tetrasporangia more com- in the relatively large number of recent name changes.
monly have cruciately arranged spores ; tetrahedrally Most are incorporated here but, if not, use is made of
arranged spores are found only in species of footnotes to highlight unresolved issues. However, it is
Hymenoclonium (Rhodymeniaceae) and in the relatively inevitable with a first attempt that some problems will
Book reviews 205
remain and the author makes a plea in the introduction for says ‘ aquatic ecologists, expert and beginner ’, which is a
users to communicate their difficulties to her. In going broad spectrum. There is always a danger of pleasing
through the key, I found only a few problems in separating nobody. The expert might find it frustrating to have only
cells down to the generic level, which is the main aim of a partial coverage of taxa but there is little doubt that the
the book. It is at the species level that the problems start, beginner will be helped. I tested the key out on an
but it would be unfair to be too critical, because undergraduate class looking at live benthic samples. They
identification is often very difficult even on cleaned cells, responded well and identified more taxa correctly than is
let alone if only live material is used. This key should be usual with the other keys now available, which gave them
seen as a guide into the more specialized literature. confidence and stimulated interest, but I suspect that the
Possible improvements in future editions might include book is too expensive and specialized for individual
descriptions of the potential varieties of form that can students to buy. However, I would certainly recommend
occur in live cells, for example when chloroplasts contract it for teachers, libraries and anyone else needing help to
in the resting state. Also, some digitized photographic bridge the gap to more advanced monographs and keys.
images (cheap to produce ?) would be very helpful Overall, it is a welcome contribution that is likely to
alongside the excellent line drawings, so that the different generate considerable feedback from users and, I hope, it
taxonomic features visible in live and cleaned specimens will start to redress the balance in favour of viewing
could be compared and contrasted. This particularly diatoms as living cells rather than elegant fossils.
applies to the centric diatoms, where form changes D J
between taxa can be relatively subtle. Freshwater Laboratory
It is difficult to decide what the specific market is for this
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University of Ulster
key. The publicity notes say ‘ water industries and
BT45 6LR
environmental protection agencies ’ and the introduction
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