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Red Algae (Rhodophyta) are made up of a vast amount of species. They effect the intertidal by providing food shelter, and ecological balance for many surrounding organisms. Red algae are close relatives to brown and green algae. Red Algae don’t have many hazardous characteristics to other organisms. Basically the only thing is that you can slip on an algae covered rock. But besides that, they aren’t that hazardous. Red algae reproduce asexually by budding. They release spores into the water that soon become red algae themselves. Red algae contain their energy by performing the process of photosynthesis. They also absorb nutrients through the water, and benefit greatly from upwelling. Algae stay connected to the bottom of the ocean by a holdfast. Without this, they wouldn’t be able to stay connected to the bottom of the ocean. Most algae can be eaten, but may not taste very good. Algae is at the bottom of the food chain, so it is very important. Everything in the food chain relies on algae to survive. Without algae, all of the little fish won’t have any food, then the bigger fish won’t have food, and the whole food chain would get messed up. And surprisingly, algae is in some types of food, like Jello. It is sometimes found in some make up. So algae can be used in many different ways. And it is very important. Without algae, the whole intertidal would be messed up and nothing would be able to survive. Some common algae that we found were Gracilaria salicornia, Acanthophora spicifera, and Laurencia sp.
Red algae is not always red, so don’t be fooled by the name. Some red algae can be brown, white, purple, or even red. You can usually eat red algae, like Gracilaria coronopifolia, but there have been some cases shown where elderly people who ate too much bled from the intestines. Other people just got sort of sick, so be careful. If you are going to eat it, make sure it is prepared correctly. The scientific name for red algae is Rhodophyta. There are many different species of Rhodophyta, so it is hard to name them all. And only some red algae live in the intertidal zone, usually all attached to rocks. There are also little creatures who like to live in the red algae, and they use it as a little habitat. They usually don’t eat it though. We observed some of the creatures and watched them eat. Some of the species of algae that we found are Gracilaria coronopifolia, Gracilaria salicornia, a few Galaxaura species, Asparagopsus, Laurencia nidifica, Wrangelia penicillata, and many more, but that is just some examples.
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