Gelidiella acerosa   (Forsskål) Feldmann & G. Hamel

Chaffweed

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Gelidiella acerosa  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Florideophyceae | Gelidiales | Gelidiellaceae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Sessile; depth range 0 - 47 m (Ref. 83908).  Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm

Short description Morphology

Thalli form wiry mats or clumps attached by rhizoids arising from creeping stolons. Colour yellow-brown to greenish brown when inhabiting tidepools or upper intertidal areas with clear and shallow water, and reddish to purple in shaded upper subtidal and lower intertidal areas. Branches erect, decumbent or prostrate, composed of a terete to compressed central axis and pinnately arranged, filiform lateral branchlets (ramuli) which are upcurved and acuminate, 1 to 6 mm long, and generally decrease in length towards the distal portion of the axes. Few lateral branchlets may develop that give rise to second degree ramuli. In fertile plants, swollen stichidia are formed at the apices of the lateral branchlets. Branches up to 9 cm in length (Ref. 80758).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Utilized for human consumption as food: prepared as salad, dessert gel, or agar jelly, an ingredient in milk products, jams, marmalades, and ice cream; one of the most important raw materials for the manufacture of agar used in pharmaceutical industries, paints, varnishes, electric bulbs, and photographic films; used as culture medium in bacteriology, agar plates in electrophoresis, and other laboratory uses (Ref. 80758). Maximum depth from Ref. 102167. Inhabits shallow waters of the intertidal and upper subtidal zones. Grows in exposed or shaded areas, attached to calcareous substrates such as coralline rocks, rocks covered by crustose algae, and on sandstones or shells of molluscs. Also found in tidepools with relatively high changes in water temperature, pH, salinity and degree of exposure to air are influenced by tide (Ref. 80758).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry. 2009. (Ref. 80701)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 80758)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
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Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | AlgaeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 23.2 - 29, mean 27.4 (based on 1648 cells).