{"id":20026,"date":"2022-09-21T13:40:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T11:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/?post_type=purple_issue&#038;p=20026"},"modified":"2022-11-07T15:50:16","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T14:50:16","slug":"bees-of-the-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/2022\/09\/21\/bees-of-the-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"Bees of the seas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center intro\">New research has uncovered \u2018pollinators\u2019 \u2013 marine crustaceans \u2013 fertilising seaweed in our oceans <\/p>\n\n<div class=\"no-tts wp-block-image article-in-image photo\"><figure class=\"no-tts aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/C1RKHD_cmyk_preview-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"no-tts wp-image-20577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/C1RKHD_cmyk_preview-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/C1RKHD_cmyk_preview-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/C1RKHD_cmyk_preview-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/C1RKHD_cmyk_preview-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/C1RKHD_cmyk_preview.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Idotea, a woodlouse-like crustacean \u2013 seen here on common eelgrass \u2013 plays a vital role<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">THE WORLD\u2019S OCEANS CONTAIN ABOUT as few insects as they do flowering plants, and yet new research shows that \u2018pollinators\u2019 do occur in the sea. It\u2019s just that they are not insects and it\u2019s not flowers they\u2019re pollinating.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">Biologists have discovered that slender wart weed, a red seaweed that grows in shallow UK waters, is \u2018pollinated\u2019 by a woodlouse-like marine crustacean named <em>Idotea, <\/em>which transports the spermatia \u2013 the algal equivalent of pollen \u2013 from male to <span>female plants.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">\u201cWhen we found these crustaceans were highly associated with the algae, particularly <span>during the reproductive season, that\u2019s when we thought that maybe they are helping with fertilisation,\u201d says Myriam Valero, who led the research from France\u2019s University Paris-Sorbonne. In return for their services, the crustaceans find food and shelter among the seaweed\u2019s fronds.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">While the sex cells of many seaweeds are able to swim using tail-like flagellae, those of red algae lack any form of propulsion. Without the crustaceans\u2019 help, the seaweed\u2019s sex cells would be at the mercy of currents. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">\u201cAlthough red algae are very different to flowering plants, in a way these systems are very similar,\u201d says Valero. \u201cWe are now looking at another red alga species in Chile, where there are no <em>Idotea <\/em>present, but there is another crustacean species that might be performing a similar role.\u201d <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">Red algae are an ancient group of plants, raising the possibility that they enlisted the services of invertebrate \u2018pollinators\u2019 long before flowers appeared. <br><strong>SB <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<div class=\"no-tts wp-block-image article-in-image photo\"><figure class=\"no-tts alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/Layer-0-16.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"no-tts wp-image-20685\" width=\"42\" height=\"42\" srcset=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/Layer-0-16.png 459w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/Layer-0-16-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/09\/Layer-0-16-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 42px) 100vw, 42px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<p>Myriam Valero, a scientist at CNRS, the French national research agency<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"footer\">Photos: IDOTEA: ANDREY NEKRASOV\/ALAMY, MYRIAM: CHRISTOPHE DESTOMBE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New research has uncovered \u2018pollinators\u2019 \u2013 marine crustaceans \u2013 fertilising seaweed in our oceans 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research has uncovered \u2018pollinators\u2019 \u2013 marine crustaceans \u2013 fertilising seaweed in our 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