Gracilaria Salicornia

seaweed
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Location, data.
Gracilaria Salicornia
Description Habitat Trophic Info
Safety Comments Links to Resources

Description: Gracilaria salicornia is red or orange in color but it is often bleached by the sun. It grows to about 10 centimeters in length and it is usually about 5 millimeteres around. It is cylindrical in shape and has bubbley shaped tips. It also grows in thick bunches so you can usually find a lot of it.
Habitat:

Gracilaria salicornia grows in tidepools and reef flats of about 3 feet deep water. And it is usually not in active water. But the water has some ocassional waves in it.
Range (include invasive, native, endemic): Gracilaria salicornia is an invasive species. It did not originally come from Hawaii. It is also an Indo-Pacific species though so it came from somewhere in the Pacific. It ranges from around 3 feet of water, to about 5 feet.
Trophic information: Gracilaria salicornia doesn't actually "eat" anything, instead it photosynthesizes. It also sucks in nutrients from the water that it finds. The things that eat Gracilaria salicornia are some people, fish, and other little animals that munch on it or live inside it.
Safety: Gracilaria salicornia is not dangerous but can be very slippery if you decide that you want to step on it. But you should not step on it because you will kill it. I don't know if you can eat it so you might not want to try just in case for safety issues. :)
Comments: Gracilaria salicornia is often confused with Gracilaria coronopifolia but they are not the same algae. Gracilaria coronopifolia is a skinnier algae and it is a different color than the Gracilaria salicornia. If you look at one of the other red algae pages, then you will be able to find what it looks like.
Links to Resources: links to resources.
 
 
 
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