Ecotypic Variation in Salinity Responses of Ulva pertusa(Chlorophyta) from the Korean Coast

Salinity ecotypes in Ulva pertusa Kjellman were examined for the growth responses of the three isolates taken from different salinity regimes. All isolates showed a broad salinity tolerance, but growth patterns were correlated with the salinity regime of their original habitat. The germlings from Anin exhibited optimum growth at the native salinity of 32%. The germlings from Yongyon which had hypersaline habitats were tolerable to high salinity, i.e. growth rates peaked at 40%, whereas those from Samgando which had low salinities achieved maximum growth rate at 24\%. The germlings of inter-isolate cross demonstrated intermediate growth response between that of their respective parents. Our data also clearly indicated intraspecific differences among the three isolates, which was interpreted as development of different physiological ecotypes. We conclude that U. pertusa may consist of several ecotypes, each of which has some capacity for physiological adaptation to salinity variations.