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Recent Calcified Halimedaceae

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Calcareous Algae and Stromatolites

Abstract

Five Recent genera of Halimedaceae, namely Halimeda,Penicillus, Rhipocephalus, Tydemania, and Udotea calcify. Only Halimeda and Udotea, the genera with more than 10 species, are widely distributed in the tropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, but Halimeda alone produces extensive populations worldwide making it globally significant. Because of the essentially tropical distribution of all 5 taxa they can be considered strong indicators of tropical environments.

Halimeda is also widely distributed across the reef, with some of its 33 species indicating different reefal conditions. Approximately three-quarters of its species are associated with con-solidated or gravelly habitats as opposed to sand/mud substrata. Large populations may occur on the deep fore-reef where Halimeda grows at depths of over 140 m, in the extreme shallows of back reef moderate energy environments, and in lagoonal regions. Some lagoonal populations overlay Halimeda bioherms which date from at least the early Pleistocene. Extensive present day populations together with Halimeda bioherms provide dramatic evidence of the importance of calcareous Halimedaceae in reef construction, and offer support for calling reefs algal rather than coral. Although Halimeda is a principal component of many tropical reef systems, non-Halimeda reefs are also part of the global reef picture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology Department, The Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Ave., 43210, Ohio, Columbus, USA

    L. Hillis

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  1. L. Hillis
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  1. University of Wales College of Cardiff, CF1 3YE, Cardiff, UK

    Robert Riding

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© 1991 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hillis, L. (1991). Recent Calcified Halimedaceae. In: Riding, R. (eds) Calcareous Algae and Stromatolites. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-52335-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-52335-9_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-52337-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-52335-9

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