Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of red, but some species can be purple, yellow, blue, white, or gray-green. Coralline algae play an important role in the ecology of coral reefs. Sea urchins, parrot fish, and limpets and chitons feed on coralline algae. In the temperate Mediterranean Sea, coralline algae are the main builders of a typical algal reef, the Coralligène ("coralligenous"). Many are typically encrusting and rock-like, found in marine waters all over the world. Only one species lives in freshwater. Unattached specimens may form relatively smooth compact balls to warty or fruticose thalli.
Turbinaria ornata is a tropical brown algae of the order Fucales native to coral reef ecosystems of the South Pacific. Turbinaria ornata is more commonly referred to as crowded sea bells in the US and crowned sea bells worldwide. It can quickly colonize these ecosystems due in part to its method of dispersing by detaching older and more buoyant fronds that travel on surface currents, sometimes in large rafts of many individual thalli, or fronds. Some scientists are investigating whether the increase in density of seaweeds, and a decrease in living coral density, on coral reef ecosystems indicates a change in the health of the reef, focusing studies on this particular species of brown alga.
Dictyosphaeria is a genus of green algae in the family Siphonocladaceae.
Montipora dilatata, commonly known as the Hawaiian reef coral, is a species of coral in the family Acroporidae.
Kappaphycus alvarezii, the elkhorn sea moss, is a species of red algae. The elkhorn sea moss varies in size, weight, and age. It is a dark greenish-brown hue and can sometimes be deep purple. The moss is cylindrical in shape throughout the seaweed. Its diameter averages 1.526 mm when dried. Near the base of the seaweed, its average length is from 1 mm to 17 mm and 1 mm to 2 mm in diameter. Firm algae are around 2 m tall, with axes and branches around 1–2 cm in diameter. It used to be believed they reproduced through vegetative fermentation, but recent studies show that they reproduce sexually. They reproduce through vegetative propagation and reproduce sexually. Cross sections of the Elkhorn sea moss have a medulla composed of small thick-walled cells interspaced among large parenchyma cells. This moss is used for various types of foods that humans consume and can also be used to make a jelly-like dessert. This moss is a very good source of minerals and of high commercial interest. It is one of the most important commercial sources of carrageenans, a family of gel-forming, viscosifying polysaccharides. Farming methods affect the character of the carrageenan that can be extracted from the seaweed. It is very fast-growing, known to double its biomass in 15 days.
The Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) is a marine biology laboratory located on the state-owned Coconut Island in Kāneʻohe Bay.
Limu, otherwise known as rimu, remu or ʻimu is a general Polynesian term for edible plants living underwater, such as seaweed, or plants living near water, like algae. In Hawaii, there are approximately one hundred names for kinds of limu, sixty of which can be matched with scientific names. Hundreds of species of marine algae were once found in Hawaii. Many limu are edible, and used in the cuisine throughout most of Polynesia.
Isabella Aiona Abbott was an educator, phycologist, and ethnobotanist from Hawaii. The first native Hawaiian woman to receive a PhD in science, she became a leading expert on Pacific marine algae.
Colpomenia sinuosa, commonly named the oyster thief or sinuous ballweed, is a brown algae species in the genus Colpomenia. It is the type species of its genus and is widespread in tropical to temperate zones around the world.
Coral bleaching in Oahu has been on the rise since 1996, when Hawaii's first major coral bleaching occurred in Kaneohe Bay, followed by major bleaching events in the Northwest islands in 2002 and 2004. In 2014, biologists from the University of Queensland observed the first mass bleaching event, and attributed it to The Blob.
Naccariaceae is a family of red algae in the order Bonnemaisoniales, with 3 monotypic genera that are found in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Dictyota sandvicensis also called limu 'Alani in Hawaiian, is a species of brown seaweed in the family Dictyotaceae endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Hydroclathrus clathratus is a species of brown algae, of the phylum Ochrophyta. It is a yellowish-brown net-like algae that can be found in almost every ocean.
Formerly known as Sargassum echinocarpum, Sargassum aquifolium is an abundant brown algae of the order Fucales, class Phaeophyceae, genus Sargassum. In Hawaii, it is commonly known as limu kala. This alga is endemic to Hawaiʻi, one out of the four endemic species of Sargassum.
Sargassum polyphyllum is a species of brown macroalgae or limu (seaweed) in the order Fucales.
Dictyosphaeria cavernosa is a species of green algae in the family Siphonocladaceae, one of the three species in this family. Its common name is green bubble seaweed.
Halimeda discoidea is a species of calcareous green algae in the order Bryopsidales. It is commonly known as Money Plant due to its appearance and is usually found in the tropics.
Porites duerdeni, also called thick or knobby finger coral, is a coral in the family Poritidae, representing stoney corals, and is endemic to Hawai'i.
Randall Kosaki is a research ecologist at the NOAA Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. His expertise is in the behavioral ecology, taxonomy, and biogeography of Pacific coral reef fishes.
