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.
The Patellogastropoda, common name true limpets and historically called the Docoglossa, are members of a major phylogenetic group of marine gastropods, treated by experts either as a clade or as a taxonomic order.
Nacella macquariensis is a species of true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Nacellidae. It is found on the lower foreshore and in the shallow sub-littoral zone of certain islands in the southern Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean.
Mesograzers are defined as small invertebrate herbivores less than 2.5 cm in length, and can include juveniles of some larger species. The feeding behaviour of these small invertebrate herbivores is what classifies them as mesograzers. They are commonly found abundantly on Microalgae, seagrass beds, giant kelp, and coral reefs globally, since these are their main food sources and habitats. Their foraging behaviour is grazing on the organism they are living on, where there are typically masses reaching tens of thousands of mesograzers per meter of habitat. They experience predation from micro-carnivorous fish that help regulate the population of kelp and other common food sources of mesograzers by controlling the population of mesograzers; consequently, grazing is an important process linking aquatic vegetation to higher trophic level. Mesograzers show important top-down effect on marine communities, depending on the diversity and presence of predators. Mesograzers are typically overlooked in scientific research however their foraging effects have been suggested to have extreme effects on the population of their common food sources. They both positively and negatively affect macroalgal performance and productivity through grazing on algal, or through removing epiphytes. Mesograzers typically exist in spaces lacking enemies by inhabiting, therefore consuming, marine vegetation which are defended against more mobile, larger consumers through chemical defenses.
Loxechinus albus is an echinoderm of the family Parechinidae, native to coastal southern South America, ranging from Ecuador, along the entire coasts of Peru and Chile, to Argentina, as well as the Falkland Islands. It is the only species in the genus Loxechinus. It is known as the Chilean sea urchin or red sea urchin, but the latter name is typically used for the North Pacific Mesocentrotus franciscanus and it is not the only species of sea urchin in Chile. L. albus is found on rocky reefs and shores in the intertidal and subtidal zones to a depth of 340 m (1,120 ft).
In algal anatomy, a pit connection is a hole in the septum between two algal cells, and is found only in the red algae − specifically, all orders except the Porphyridiales and haploid Bangiales. They are often stoppered with proteinaceous "pit plugs". By contrast, many fungi contain septal pores − an unrelated phenomenon.
Lottia gigantea, common name the owl limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Lottiidae. Its genome has been sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute.
Patella ferruginea, commonly known as the ferruginous limpet is a species of true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae. It is a large limpet, endemic to the western Mediterranean Sea, and although common in the past, it is now rare and restricted to only a few locations.
Scutellastra cochlear is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the snail patella, the pear limpet or the spoon limpet and is native to South Africa. It often grows in association with the crustose coralline alga Spongites yendoi and a filamentous red alga which it cultivates in a garden. It was first described by the malacologist Ignaz von Born in 1778 as Patella cochlear.
Diodora aspera, also known as the rough keyhole limpet, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets. Although similar in appearance to a common limpet, it has a hole near the apex of its shell, and is only distantly related. It often has a scaled polychaete worm Arctonoe vittata living inside its shell as a commensal. In the event that it is attacked by a starfish, it extends flaps of mantle to defend itself, and the worm also helps drive the predator away.
Diodora funiculata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Lacuna vincta, commonly known as northern lacuna, wide lacuna, northern chink shell, or banded chink shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles. It is found intertidally and in shallow waters in both the northern Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean. It is a herbivore, feeding on seaweed and diatoms with its toothed radula.
Sphaerechinus granularis is a species of sea urchin in the family Toxopneustidae, commonly known as the violet sea urchin, or sometimes the purple sea urchin. Its range includes the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Lobophora variegata is a species of small thalloid brown alga which grows intertidally or in shallow water in tropical and warm temperate seas. It has three basic forms, being sometimes ruffled, sometimes reclining and sometimes encrusting, and each form is typically found in a different habitat. This seaweed occurs worldwide. It is the type species of the genus Lobophora, the type locality being the Antilles in the West Indies.
Spongites yendoi is a species of crustose red seaweed with a hard, calcareous skeleton in the family Corallinaceae. It is found on the lower shore as part of a diverse community in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Ralfsia verrucosa is a species of crustose brown seaweed in the family Ralfsiaceae. It grows intertidally in temperate waters around the world. In South Africa it is part of a mutualistic relationship with a limpet.
Electra pilosa is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the northeastern and northwestern Atlantic Ocean and is also present in Australia and New Zealand.
Hildenbrandia rubra is a marine species of thalloid red alga. It forms thin reddish crusts on rocks and pebbles in the intertidal zone and the shallow subtidal zone. It is a common species with a cosmopolitan distribution, and is able to tolerate a wide range of conditions.
Cymbula sanguinans, the giant pinkray limpet, is a species of giant limpet, a marine mollusc in the family Patellidae. It is native to the coast of South Africa. At one time thought to be a subspecies of Cymbula miniata, molecular analysis has shown C. sanguinans warrants being treated as a full species, despite there being no obvious morphological differences between the two. This makes difficult the task of deciding which of the previous research studies refer to C. sanguinans, and which refer to C. miniata.
Crustaphytum is a genus of red alga first discovered in Taoyuan algal reefs by Taiwanese scientists. The epithet “crusta” refers to crustose thallus and “phytum” refers to plant. Belonging to the family Hapalidiaceae in the order Hapalidiales, Crustaphytum is one kind of crustose coralline algae.
