Algae coralline

Although coral looks like a plant, actually it is mainly comprised of (10) the limestone skeleton of a tiny animal called a coral polyp. While corals are the main components of reef structure, they are not the only living participants. Coralline algae cement the myriad corals, and other miniature organisms such as tube worms and mollusks contribute skeletons to this dense and diverse structure. Together, these (15) living creatures construct many different types of tropical reefs. 

Kim J, Choi JS, Kang SE, Cho JY, Jin HJ, Chun BS, Hong YK (2004) Multiple allelopathic activity of the crustose coralline alga Lithophyllum yessoense against settlement and germination of seaweed spores. J Appl Phycol 16 175-179... 

Stachowicz JJ, Hay ME (1996) Facultative mutualism between an herbivorous crab and a coralline alga advantages of eating noxious seaweeds. Oecologia 105 377-387 Stachowicz JJ, Whitlatch RB (2005) Multiple mutualists provide complementary benefits to their seaweed host. Ecology 86 2418-2427... 

Suzuki Y, Takabayashi T, Kawaguchi T, Matsunaga K (1998) Isolation of an allelopathic substance from the crustose coralline algae, Lithophyllum spp., and its effect on the brown alga, Laminaria religiosa Miyabe (Phaeophyta). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 225 69-77 Svensson CJ, Pavia H, Toth G (2007) Do plant density, nutrient availability, and herbivore grazing interact to affect phlorotannin plasticity in the brown seaweed Ascophyllwn nodosum. Mar Biol (in press), doi 10.1007/s00227-007-0649-5 Swanson AK, Druehl LD (2002) Induction, exudation and the UV protective role of kelp phloro-tannins. Aquat Bot 73 241-253... 

The saxitoxins have also been found in the freshwater cyanophyte Aphanizomenon flos aquae (9,1 ) and, quite recently, in tropical marine coralline algae of the genus Jania (11)... 

Goreau, T. F. Calcium carbonate deposition by coralline algae and corals in relation to their roles as reef-builders. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 109, 127—167 (1963). 

Buchsbaum Pearse, V. Radioisotopic study of calcification in the articulated coralline alga Bossiella orbigniana. J. Phycol. 8, 88-97 (1972). 

Itoh N, Shinya M (1994) Seasonal Evolution of Bromomethanes from Coralline Algae (Corallinaceae) and Its Effect on Atmospheric Ozone. Mar Chem 45 95... 

Steneck, R.S., Hacker, S.D., and Dethier, M.N., Mechanisms of competitive dominance among crustose coralline algae an herbivore mediated competitive reversal, Ecology, 72, 938, 1991. 

Pitlik, T. J. and Paul, V. J., Effects of toughness, calcite level, and chemistry of crustose coralline algae (Rhodophyta, Corallinales) on grazing by the parrotfish Chlorurus sordidus, Proc. 8th Int. Coral ReefSym., 1, 701, 1997. 

Littler, M. M. and Littler, D. S., Disease-induced mass mortality of crustose coralline algae on coral reefs provides rationale for the conservation of herbivorous fish stocks, Proc. 8th Int. Coral Reef Sym., 1, 719, 1997. 

Larvae of many species of corals are induced to metamorphose by a carbohydrate-based cue from algal cell walls, in particular those of crustose coralline algae.142143 The inducer is apparently conserved across many algal species in the Pacific and Caribbean,144 and it has been identified as a high molecular weight polysaccharide with an active, water-soluble subunit.145 The isolated subunit has been adsorbed onto a resin base, which had activity similar to the natural inducer in laboratory and field studies.145... 

Several studies now point to the importance of carbohydrates as settlement cues. Many species of coral larvae that settle on crustose coralline algae metamorphose in response to an algal cell wall polysaccharide.17132 The sacoglossan Alderia modesta metamorphoses in response to carbohydrates of different size classes from its algal food Vaucheria longicaulis.144 The sea urchin Holopneustes purpurascens metamorphoses in response to a complex of the sugar floridoside and isethionic acid from the red alga Delisea pule hr a.11 In this case, the combination of compounds was important because neither induced metamorphosis alone. 

Johnson, C. R., Muir, D. G., and Reysenbach, A. L., Characteristic bacteria associated with surfaces of coralline algae a hypothesis for bacterial induction of marine invertebrate larvae, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 74, 281, 1991. 

Johnson, C. R. and Sutton, D. C., Bacteria on the surface of crustose coralline algae induce metamorphosis of the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthasterplanci, Mar. Biol., 120, 305, 1994. 

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