35 Coralline Algae Facts: Significance, Benefits, And Much More

Coralline algae play a significant role in the subjugation of ocean environs.

Retaining solar energy, thalli are responsible for algal photosynthetic responses. Any compromises in photosynthetic structure can alter the optical properties of tissue and overall performance.

Coralline algae species are responsible for sustaining the ecology of the coral reef and they are commonly seen in the Mediterranean Sea, in an encrusting and rock-like form. Many of these with pinkish grey patches are quite common in intertidal zones.

The pink ones are categorized as crustose Coralline algae and the rest are Coralline red algae species. Red Coralline algae have their affiliation with the Rhodophyta division. Non-geniculate Coralline algae include an estimated 1600 species.

The sessile encrusting organisms are defensive to confinement because of disruptions by waves. Sometimes the potential encrusters are required to get dismantled by herbivores.

Some of the species have a tendency to separate their epithalamus and a surface layer of epithelial cells, which causes an increment in herbivore recruitment by the antifouling mechanism. This may hamper the re-distribution of other algae species on the surface.

The process was shown with Neogoniolithon foslei and Sporolithon ptychoides in the Indo-Pacific region. The Coralline species in this process usually dump cells with weak metabolic function.

Mineralized parts usually get scattered, the un-mineralized geniculate gets disintegrated fast. Non-mineralized species were identified from the Silurian of Gotland. Molecular studies are more responsive than morphological explanations. There are a few species families mentioned according to Algae-Base, Corallinaceae, Spongitaceae, Mastophoraceae, Hydrolithaceae, Porolithaceae, Lithothamniaceae, Incertae sedis 1, and Lithophyllaceae.

According to the World Register of Marine Species Sporolithaceae, Hapalidiaceae, Corallinaceae, and according to ITIS, Corallinaceae exist. Coralline algae species is believed to be here since Ordovician, but some believe that it is from the Cretaceous and Jurassic ages.

Arenigiphyllum, Petrophyton, Graticule, Archeolithophyllum are in a stem group and these genera were identified from Doushantuo formation in Ediacaran. Corallinaceae, Sporolithaceae were evidently seen to have heterogeneous traits over time.

Coralline Algae Facts

The aquatic species Coralline algae are populous in most oceanic regions, covering the highest proportion of rocky substrata.

Coralline algae are introduced in the first century AD by Rodolfo Amando Philippi. He divided them into Lithophyllum and Lithothamnion. until 1986, they were aligned in Cryptonemiales order.

Pneophyllum cetinaensis are solely the common species among ecologists and phycologists (specialized in algae) to be found in freshwater.

Coralline algae stay in the primary stage as crustose and the rear-most stage is frondose in their aquatic life.

Coralline algae are adapted to osmotic stress, temperature, and water salinity alterations, their ancestors survived through this over a longer time.

These Coralline species have some variations, epiphytic, epizoic, parasitic. Epiphytic has a tendency to spread over different algae species or marine angiosperms. Parasitic is seen to be on corallines and Epizoic proliferates on animals.

Coralline algae are categorized between geniculate and non-geniculate. Thali is classified in hypothallus, perithallus, epithallus layers.

Geniculate ones are tied up with substratum by crustose. Having separate inter-genicular, they are ergonomic in a certain way. Non-geniculate species have a slow growth over coral skeletons, rock, shells, seagrasses, and different algae species.

Both of them fall under the genre of parasitic or endophytic to some extent. Their crusts happen to construct knobby protuberances.

The outer section of the crusts got Rhodoliths, living specimens and they are morphologically diverse which made them non-taxonomic descriptors.

You can grow Coralline algae with your own coral reefs in a saltwater aquarium because they are calcareous algae types. Coralline algae growth requires certain conditions. The water gravity is recommended to stay at 1.024 with 2.5-4 meq/L (7-12 dKH) carbonate alkalinity.

There should be a presence of strontium in water with 350-480 ppm calcium density and lower phosphate (~0) and nitrate (~5 ppm) proportion for Coralline algae growth.

Their habitats lie in the depths of intertidal aquatic zones within brackish and hypersaline environments in-depth of 885.82ft (270m).

Coralline algae growth has expanded at the pace of an estimated 0.003-3.1 in (0.1-80 mm) annually.

An overview conducted by Morton and his group had shown the South African species Spongites yendoi has a tendency to slough 50% of its totality. It requires a certain amount of energy.

Herbivores (e.g. Patella cochlear) clean the surface areas. Sloughing allows them to get rid of old reproductive structures, malignant surface cells and alleviate surface penetration.

Since the early Cretaceous, Corallines have significant fossil records in accordance with the molecular clocks that indicate the separation of modern taxa.

Significance Of Coralline Algae

Because they have phycobiliproteins and are diverse, Corallin algae can give your reef aquarium an aesthetic vibe. These coral organisms also got some important traits including sustaining a healthy aquarium.

Coralline algae are responsible for the survival of various aquatic species (e.g. parrotfish, sea urchins, mollusks).

The algae species tend to act as an obstruction while retaining ocean currents. Limestones are seen to be built from their cells.

Aquarium reefs have a tendency to shift quite often in routine maintenance or unexpected mishaps, where this algae species is supposed to hold the reefs and rocks for strengthening the whole system.

Coralline algae do not like to be with other algae species. Growing its periphery, it engulfs the portion where other algae species will likely grow. This may happen as they are epiphytic and defensive against other species.

Coralline algae come into play while sustaining the longevity of coral reefs, averts coastal erosion, facilitating the reproduction of herbivores invertebrates, terminating invasive species.

They are seen to be gone through asexual and sexual processes. The asexual process happens with spores and cellular fragmentation coming off.

However, in the sexual process gametes are emancipated as spermatia from males, and entering carpogonial branch, causes carpospores, which later get turned into tetrasporophytes.

Benefits Of Coralline Algae

Coralline Algae, this macro-algae species spread their habitat in between illuminated, intertidal regions and light-limited regions.

Their vegetative cells have CaCO3 and the carbonate structure has a significant role in ecological success. It is responsible for amplifying the efficacy of thallus light absorption.

The process facilitates while dispersing light upon scleractinian corals, algal skeleton.

Having calcium carbonate, the process of fossilization gets facilitated. In petroleum geology, they are considered stratigraphic markers. Coral rocks were seen for construction purposes in ancient Greece.

The magnesium percentage in calcite crystals alters the water temperature and function of species. The higher percentage of magnesium increases the water solubility of minerals, which is the reason why Coralline algae are more likely to get exposed to ocean acidification.

During the 18th century Britain and France used to do soil conditioning annually with Phymatolithon calcareum (Pallas, Adey, Mckinnin) and Lithothamnion coralliodies. At the coastal area of Brazil, several thousands of distance is made of unattached corallines.

During the 18th century, Geniculate corallines were used in making vermifuge. Nowadays in the medical industry, it is used in dental bone implants as it has the capability to support matrix for regeneration.

Animals That Eat Coralline Algae

Coral reef systems are a refuge to various underwater species because of their hunting ground, nutrient bases.

There are few species that prey upon Coralline algae despite the fact that they are capable to be a benefactor.

Parrotfish, do not get conned by these colorful creatures. They are responsible for biting off coral polyps. Their feeding behavior dismantles the algae species and sabotages the reef.

Crown of thorns starfish is an invasive predatory species, they became the biggest issue sustaining coral species due to their growth in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Barrier Reef, where the environment is in their favor. They are an intricate species to terminate.

Butterflyfish is territorial and these brightly colored species have a tendency to feed and breed upon the areas which are incorporated with algae species.

Sea slugs are responsible for environmental instability and this species accommodates their feast upon Coralline algae (distressed reef aquarium builders) by secreting toxic slime. Their wide range of variety can be categorized in a big group but it's better to distinguish them with their individuality.

Humans are the most civilized species in the universe and can be catastrophic to the environment with time. Although except medicinal studies, collecting corals is considered a violation, still humans are seen to outlaw this for recreational purposes.