Best Rope/Twine Material - seeding Fucus vesiculosus
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Hello Green Wave community,
I am doing a small scale research project on Fucus vesiculosus (bladder wrack). I want to seed twine with Fucus zygotes and observe their attachment and growth rate at my field station in a lagoon in the German Baltic Sea as part of my Masters thesis project. I'm looking for the best material of twine for my experiment (PVA, Dyneema, hemp, cotton, etc.). Through the Green Wave website, I see that Hortimare’s custom-made 1.2 mm braided seedstring from Langman Ropes is recommended, but I was hoping to be able to find something at my local hardware store or something with faster shipping and smaller quantities.
Thanks in advance for the help :)
@amber_88 Hello from Alaska! I've run some experiments with different natural fibers with sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima), ribbon kelp (Alaria marginata) and bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana). We had good success with thicker cotton twines and cords, as well as some hemp and silk. The gametophytes adhered well to pretty much every fiber we tested, it was a matter of finding one that lasted long enough for adequate holdfast development from the string onto the growline before the string dissolved. Another challenge we faced with some of the natural materials was shedding (pieces of the fiber pulling of the string and removing any gametophytes that were settled there).
For synthetic fibers, many hatcheries in the states have been using Holdfast twine (made by Ludlow A&E). It's a nice thin twine that doesn't have any waxy coating and doesn't shed fibers. I would think that most synthetic strings would work, but prior to use I would soak them in hot water to see if there is any leeching or shedding from the twine.
Good luck!
@tamsen_peeples Thank you so much! This is really helpful!
@tamsen_peeples Thank you so much! This is really helpful!
@amber_88 Hello from Maine! I was pleased to come across your post as I have an undergraduate student who is also interested in exploring Fucus-specific nursery techniques. Perhaps there is a mutually beneficial opportunity to meetup online and chat through techniques that we're trying, success rates, etc., or even run a comparative study. Send me an ggrebe@unity.edu if you want to connect.