Red Algae

Carlos Frederico Deluqui Gurgel, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA
Juan Lopez‐Bautista, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

Published online: July 2007

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000335

Red algae are ancient aquatic plants with simple organization, noteworthy colour variation, vast morphological plasticity, challenging taxonomy and most extant species (about 6000 worldwide) are marine. They include species with complex life cycles, significant ecological importance and extensive economical applications.

Keywords: alga; Rhodophyta; reef; agar; carrageenan

 References
    Adl SM, Simpson AGB, Farmer MA et al. (2005) The new higher level classification of eukaryotes with emphasis on the taxonomy of protests. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 52: 399–451.
    Ask EI, Batibasaga JA, Zertuche-Gonzalez JA and de San M (2003) Three decades of Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta) introduction to non-endemic locations. Proceedings International Seaweed Symposium 17: 49–58.
    other Davidson K, Hamnet M, Minato C (2003) The first four years: Hawaii Coral reef Initiative Research Program (1998–2002). Social Science Research Institute, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 72 pp.
    Freshwater DW, Fredericq S, Butler BS, Hommersand MH and Chase MW (1994) A gene phylogeny of the red algae (Rhodophyta) based on plastic rbcL. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 91: 7281–7285.
    Grossman AR, Schaefer MR, Chiang GG and Collier JL (1993) The Phycobilisome, a light-harvesting complex responsive to environmental conditions. Microbiology Reviews 57: 725–749.
    Harper TJ and Saunders GW (2001) Molecular systematics of the Florideophyceae (Rhodophyta) using nuclear large and small subunit rDNA sequences data. Journal of Phycology 37: 1073–1082.
    Keeling PJ (2004) The diversity and evolutionary history of plastids and their hosts. American Journal of Botany 91: 1481–1493.
    Littler MM, Littler DS, Blair SM and Norris JN (1985) Deepest known plant life is discovered on an uncharted seamount. Science 227: 57–59.
    Ruiz GM, Fofonoff PW, Carlton JT, Wonham MJ and Hines AH (2000) Invasion of coastal marine communities in North America: apparent patterns, processes, and biases. Annual Reviews of Ecology and Systematics 31: 481–531.
    Rueness J (2005) Life history and molecular sequences of Gracilaria vermiculophylla (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta), a new introduction to European waters. Phycologia 44: 120–128.
    Saunders GW and Hommersand MH (2004) Assessing red algal supraordinal diversity and taxonomy in the context of contemporary systematic data. American Journal of Botany 91: 1494–1507.
    Smit AJ (2004) Medicinal and pharmaceutical uses of seaweed natural products: A review. Journal of Applied Phycology 16: 245–262.
    Tappan H (1976) Possible eukaryotic algae (Bangiophycidae) among early Proterozoic microfossils. Geological Society of America Bulletin 87: 633–639.
    Verlaque M, Brannock PM, Komatsu T, Villard-Bohnsack M and Marston M (2005) The genus Grateloupia C. Agardh (Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta) in the Thau Lagoon (France, Mediterranean): a case study of marine plurispecific introductions. Phycologia 44: 477–496.
    Yoon HS, Müller KM, Sheath RG, Ott FD and Bhattacharya D (2006) Defining the major lineages of red algae (Rhodophyta). Journal of Phycology 42: 482–492.
    Zemke-White WL and Ohno M (1999) World seaweed utilization: an end-of-century summary. Journal of Applied Phycology 11: 369–376.
 Further Reading
    book Cole KM and Sheath RG (1990) The Biology of Red Algae, 517pp. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
    other Guiry MD and Guiry GM (2007) AlgaeBase version 4.2. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org.
    other McHugh DJ (2003) A Guide for Seaweed Industry, 105pp. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper no. 441. Rome, FAO.
    Oliveira EC, Alveal K and Anderson RJ (2000) Mariculture of agar-producing gracilarioid red algae. Reviews in Fisheries Sciences 8(4): 345–377.
    Pueschel CM and Cole KM (1982) Rhodophycean pit plugs: an ultrastructural survey with taxonomic implications. American Journal of Botany 69: 703–720.

Related Sub-Topics:

Physiological Ecology | Microbial Evolution and Taxonomy | Algae | Plant Evolution
Contact Editor close
Submit a note to the editor about this article by filling in the form below.

* Required Field

Article Title: Red Algae
 
How to Cite close
Gurgel, Carlos Frederico Deluqui, and Lopez‐Bautista, Juan(Jul 2007) Red Algae. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000335]