Graceful coral seaweed • Corallina vancouveriensis
Identification
Graceful coral seaweed is a type of red seaweed known as an articulated coralline algae - a branched, calcified algae that has a coral-like appearance. The upright branches grow from a tightly encrusting layer and form light pink to light purple tufts to 6 cm or more. Graceful coral seaweed has dense, pinnate branching, with many branches growing from each joint. The end (axial) branches are cylindrical and approximately 1 mm long. It is easily distinguished as the most finely branched of the corallines, with no widening or flattening at the ends of its branches.*
Habitat & Range
This species can be found in the mid to low intertidal in exposed areas. It uses its high surface area to hold moisture and survive dessication much better than other corallines; it is often found at the rims of tidepools or in sheltered nooks, where other corallines are forced to live deeper in the tidepools or the subtidal. Its range extends from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Baja California in Mexico. It is also found around the Galapagos Islands and Japan.
Similar Species
Common coral seaweed (Corallina officinalis var. chilensis) is taller, with longer axial segments and with branches lying in one plane. Enigmatic coral seaweed (Bossiella frondescens) is less delicate, more flattened, and broader than graceful coral seaweed. Graceful and enigmatic coral seaweeds are two of the mroe common branching coralline algae on the BC coast.*
Intriguing Info
The dense tufts of branches decrease productivity but also decrease desiccation. Epiphytic bryozoans and encrusting corallines often grow on graceful coralline algae.
*Note that coralline seaweeds can be difficult to distinguish using only morphological characteristics, particularly as there can be much overlap in morphology. Genetic sequencing currently being utilized to differentiate between similar species has resulted in some taxonomic reshuffling and new species; click here for an example.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/126448-Corallina-vancouveriensis
Graceful coral seaweed is a type of red seaweed known as an articulated coralline algae - a branched, calcified algae that has a coral-like appearance. The upright branches grow from a tightly encrusting layer and form light pink to light purple tufts to 6 cm or more. Graceful coral seaweed has dense, pinnate branching, with many branches growing from each joint. The end (axial) branches are cylindrical and approximately 1 mm long. It is easily distinguished as the most finely branched of the corallines, with no widening or flattening at the ends of its branches.*
Habitat & Range
This species can be found in the mid to low intertidal in exposed areas. It uses its high surface area to hold moisture and survive dessication much better than other corallines; it is often found at the rims of tidepools or in sheltered nooks, where other corallines are forced to live deeper in the tidepools or the subtidal. Its range extends from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Baja California in Mexico. It is also found around the Galapagos Islands and Japan.
Similar Species
Common coral seaweed (Corallina officinalis var. chilensis) is taller, with longer axial segments and with branches lying in one plane. Enigmatic coral seaweed (Bossiella frondescens) is less delicate, more flattened, and broader than graceful coral seaweed. Graceful and enigmatic coral seaweeds are two of the mroe common branching coralline algae on the BC coast.*
Intriguing Info
The dense tufts of branches decrease productivity but also decrease desiccation. Epiphytic bryozoans and encrusting corallines often grow on graceful coralline algae.
*Note that coralline seaweeds can be difficult to distinguish using only morphological characteristics, particularly as there can be much overlap in morphology. Genetic sequencing currently being utilized to differentiate between similar species has resulted in some taxonomic reshuffling and new species; click here for an example.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/126448-Corallina-vancouveriensis
References
Lindberg, M. and Lindstrom, S. (2010). Corallina vancouverensis. Seaweeds of Alaska. Accessed 30/07/2014.
O'Clair, R. and Lindstrom, S. Corallina vancouveriensis Yendo. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 30/07/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Joel White, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2014).
Lindberg, M. and Lindstrom, S. (2010). Corallina vancouverensis. Seaweeds of Alaska. Accessed 30/07/2014.
O'Clair, R. and Lindstrom, S. Corallina vancouveriensis Yendo. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 30/07/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Joel White, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2014).