Aufwuchs
Encyclopedia
Aufwuchs is a term used to cover the small animals and plants that encrust hard substrates, such as rocks, in aquatic environments. The name originated as a German
term literally meaning "surface growth" or "overgrowth", and is frequently mis-spelled "awfuchs" or similar due to the unusual (for native English speakers) "-ufw-" combination. Indeed, the correct English pronunciation
of "aufwuchs" can be rendered approximately as "owf'vooks".
In both marine and freshwater environments, algae – particularly green algae and diatom
s – make up the dominant component of aufwuchs communities. Small crustacean
s, rotifer
s, and protozoa
ns are also commonly found in fresh water and the sea, but insect larvae, oligochaetes
and tardigrade
s are peculiar to freshwater aufwuchs faunas.
Many aquatic animals feed extensively on aufwuchs. The mbuna
cichlid
s from Lake Malawi
are particularly well known examples of fish adapted for feeding on aufwuchs. Examples include Labeotropheus trewavasae and Pseudotropheus zebra. They have scraper-like teeth that allow them to rasp the aufwuchs from rocks http://malawicichlids.com/mw01100.htm#aufw. In marine communities, aufwuchs is an important source of food for animals such as limpet
s and sea urchin
s.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
term literally meaning "surface growth" or "overgrowth", and is frequently mis-spelled "awfuchs" or similar due to the unusual (for native English speakers) "-ufw-" combination. Indeed, the correct English pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
of "aufwuchs" can be rendered approximately as "owf'vooks".
In both marine and freshwater environments, algae – particularly green algae and diatom
Diatom
Diatoms are a major group of algae, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments or ribbons , fans , zigzags , or stellate colonies . Diatoms are producers within the food chain...
s – make up the dominant component of aufwuchs communities. Small crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, rotifer
Rotifer
The rotifers make up a phylum of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris in 1696, and other forms were described by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in 1703...
s, and protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
ns are also commonly found in fresh water and the sea, but insect larvae, oligochaetes
Oligochaeta
Oligochaeta is a subclass of animals in the biological phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, and this includes all of the various earthworms...
and tardigrade
Tardigrade
Tardigrades form the phylum Tardigrada, part of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. They are microscopic, water-dwelling, segmented animals with eight legs. Tardigrades were first described by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773...
s are peculiar to freshwater aufwuchs faunas.
Many aquatic animals feed extensively on aufwuchs. The mbuna
Mbuna
Mbuna is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi. The name mbuna means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga people of Malawi...
cichlid
Cichlid
Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...
s from Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
are particularly well known examples of fish adapted for feeding on aufwuchs. Examples include Labeotropheus trewavasae and Pseudotropheus zebra. They have scraper-like teeth that allow them to rasp the aufwuchs from rocks http://malawicichlids.com/mw01100.htm#aufw. In marine communities, aufwuchs is an important source of food for animals such as limpet
Limpet
Limpet is a common name for a number of different kinds of saltwater and freshwater snails ; it is applied to those snails that have a simple shell which is more or less conical in shape, and either is not spirally coiled, or appears not to be coiled in the adult snails.The name limpet is most...
s and sea urchin
Sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
s.