Furcellaria lumbricalis

Researched By	Will Rayment	Data Supplied By	MarLIN
Refereed by	This information is not refereed.
Taxonomy
Scientific name	Furcellaria lumbricalis	Common name	A red seaweed
MCS Code	ZM337	Recent Synonyms	Furcellaria fastigiata, Fucus fastigiata
Phylum	Rhodophycota	Subphylum
Superclass		Class	Rhodophyceae
Subclass	Florideophycidae	Order	Gigartinales
Suborder		Family	Furcellariaceae
Genus	Furcellaria	Species	lumbricalis
Subspecies
Additional Information
Taxonomy References	Dickinson, 1963, Fish & Fish, 1996, Dixon & Irvine, 1977, Bird et al., 1991
General Biology
Growth form	Arborescent / Arbuscular	Feeding method	Photoautotroph
Mobility/Movement	Permanent attachment	Environmental position	Epilithic, Pelagic
Typical food types	Not relevant	Habit	Attached
Bioturbator	Not relevant	Flexibility	High (>45 degrees)
Fragility	Fragile	Size	Medium-large(21-50cm)
Height	Up to 30 cm	Growth Rate	1.3% increase in fresh weight / day
Adult dispersal potential	None	Dependency	Independent
Sociability	Solitary
Toxic/Poisonous?	No
Additional Information	Size at maturity Plants become fertile when they achieve their full size of 90-300mm according to habitat, during the 4th to 6th year (Austin 1960a,b). Growth rate Bird et al. (1979) reported growth rates of Furcellaria lumbricalis in the laboratory as a doubling in weight in 25-50 days or a 3.3% increase in fresh weight per day. For comparison, the corresponding rates for Chondrus crispus are 10 days and 7.3%, and for Fucus serratus are 12.5 days and 6.2%. These figures suggest that Furcellaria lumbricalis grows slowly in comparison to other red and brown seaweeds. The reported growth rates from the field are even slower. Blinova (1975) (cited in Bird et al., 1979) recorded a doubling in fresh weight every 167 days and Taylor (1975) (cited in Bird et al., 1979) recorded a 1.3% increase in fresh weight per day. From a site in Wales, Austin (1960b) reported annual length increments of 29-37mm in fronds initially ranging from 10-60mm in length. Environmental position As well as the commoner epilithic form, a free floating variant Furcellaria lumbricalis forma aegagropila has been reported forming rafts several metres thick on the Danish coast and may occur in Scottish and Irish sea lochs (Levring et al., 1969). The free floating form has a globose thallus of radiating fronds and is smaller in stature and frond diameter, with denser and less regular branching than the attached form (Bird et al., 1991).
Biology References	Dickinson, 1963, Fish & Fish, 1996, Dixon & Irvine, 1977, Bird et al., 1991, Austin, 1960a, Austin, 1960b, Bird et al., 1979, Levring et al., 1969, Sharp et al., 1993, Barton, 1901
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	Occurs around all coasts of Britain and Ireland. There is a paucity of records from eastern England which may reflect a lack of suitable substrata.
Global distribution	In Europe, from northern Norway to the Bay of Biscay, including the Faroe Islands and the Baltic Sea. Possibly occurs in Greenland and Iceland. In North America, occurs in Newfoundland and the Gulf of St Lawrence and its outer coasts.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	In pools in eulittoral to 30m
Migratory	Non-migratory / Resident
Distribution Additional Information	Around Prince Edward Island, Canada, Furcellaria lumbricalis is sometimes found growing epiphytically on Phyllophora sp. (Sharp et al., 1993).
Substratum preferences	Bedrock, Large to very large boulders, Small boulders, Water column (pelagic), Rockpools, Cobbles, Pebbles, Algae	Physiographic preferences	Strait / sound, Sealoch, Enclosed coast / Embayment
Biological zone	Upper Eulittoral, Lower Eulittoral, Upper Infralittoral, Upper Circalittoral, Upper Eulittoral, Mid Eulittoral, Sublittoral Fringe, Lower Infralittoral	Wave exposure	Exposed, Moderately Exposed, Sheltered, Very Sheltered, Extremely Sheltered
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Moderately Strong (1-3 kn), Weak (<1 kn), Very Weak (negligible)	Salinity	Variable (18-40 psu), Reduced (18-30 psu), Low (<18 psu)
Habitat Additional Information
Distribution References	Dickinson, 1963, Fish & Fish, 1996, Dixon & Irvine, 1977, Bird et al., 1991, Austin, 1960a, Austin, 1960b, Levring et al., 1969, Norton, 1985, Sharp et al., 1993, Hardy & Guiry, 2003
Reproduction/Life History
Reproductive type	Vegetative, Gonochoristic, See additional information	Developmental mechanism	Spores (sexual / asexual)
Reproductive Season	December to April	Reproductive Location	Insufficient information
Reproductive frequency	Annual episodic	Regeneration potential	No
Life span	Insufficient information	Age at reproductive maturity	3-5 years
Generation time	6-10 years	Fecundity	1 million
Egg/propagule size	50 µm diameter spores	Fertilization type
Larvae/Juveniles Larval/Juvenile dispersal potential Insufficient information Larval settlement period Insufficient information Duration of larval stage Insufficient information
Additional Information	Reproductive Type The typical attached form of Furcellaria lumbricalis reproduces asexually through tetrasporangial plants and sexually through dioecious gametangial plants (Dixon & Irvine, 1977). The male and female plants are usually in equal proportions but are outnumbered by the tetrasporophytes. The free floating form Furcellaria lumbricalis forma aegagropila reproduces only vegetatively through fragmentation, regeneration and proliferation (Bird et al., 1991). Proliferation, where propagules develop on the parent plant and then detach, is probably the most important mechanism. Reproduction and seasonality The mode and timing of reproduction in Furcellaria lumbricalis was reviewed by Dixon & Irvine (1977) and Bird et al. (1991). On the male plants, spermatangial ramuli begin development in late October, developing superficially in the much swollen apical regions and are conspicuous until late April or early May. Discharge of the spermatia occurs from December to April with a peak in February and March. On the female plants, the carpogonial branches are initiated in late December, with carpogonia developing internally in the apical regions. Fertilization probably only occurs over a short period commencing in mid January. The zygote is retained on the female plant but the carposporophyte is not obvious until mid summer. Maturation of the carposporophytes does not occur until a year after fertilization, with a massive discharge of carpospores occurring over a 2-4 week period from late December. 1 million 35-50µm diameter carpospores may be released from an average sized plant when a tract of cells disintegrates forming an ill defined pore to the exterior. On diploid plants, tetrasporangia are initiated in early April and develop in markedly thickened apical regions. They mature in December and 1-2 million tetraspores are liberated per plant over 2 weeks following disintegration of the thallus surface. The fruiting pods of all plants fall when they are past maturity and new shoots arise from the resulting truncated tips.
Reproduction References	Dickinson, 1963, Dixon & Irvine, 1977, Bird et al., 1991, Austin, 1960a, Austin, 1960b, Levring et al., 1969