Circannual Growth Rhythm in a Brown Alga, Pterygophora californica

A circannual rhythm was found in the kelp Pterygophora californica which forms a new blade with a free running period of 7 − 8 months under constant conditions. Individual plants exposed to cycles of daylength with T = 12, 6, or 3 months performed 1, 2, or 4 growth cycles, respectively, in one calendar year showing the entrainment of the endogenous circannual rhythm. The annual growth cycle also followed a phase shift of the annual cycle of daylength (T = 12 months) by 3 or 6 months.