Rhodoliths are coralline red algal assemblages that commonly occur in marine habitats from the tropics to polar latitudes. They form rigid structures of high-magnesium calcite and have a good fossil record. Here I show that rhodoliths are ecosystem engineers in a high Arctic environment that increase local biodiversity by providing habitat. Gouged by boring mussels, originally solid rhodoliths ...

Rhodoliths are benthic calcium carbonate nodules accreted by crustose coralline red algae which recently have been identified as useful indicators of biomineral changes resulting from global climate change and ocean acidification. This study highlights the discovery that the interior of rhodoliths are marine biodiversity hotspots that function as seedbanks and temporary reservoirs of previously...

The Lower Miocene deposits in Gabal Gharra, Cairo – Suez District, unconformably overlies the Oligocene and Eocene deposits. They consist predominantly of regressive and transgressive mixed siliciclastic / carbonate sediments of shallow marine environments. The Lower Miocene deposits are represented lithostratigraphically by the Gharra Formation that comprises four members, from base to top: Ag...

If you walk on the beach, may observe many kinds of stones diverse colors. Surprisingly, some these “stones” be algae! A certain type red algae creates structures called redstones, also known as rhodoliths. Rhodoliths are important builders and can create extensive banks at bottom oceans. These bioengineers an oasis for marine life. Marine worms, crabs, sea stars, example, live in However, huma...

Rhodoliths are non-geniculate, free-living coralline red algae that can accumulate on the seafloor and form structurally complex benthic habitats supporting diverse communities known as rhodolith beds. We combined in situ collections imagery to quantify variability, over 9 months at two sites, structural complexity biodiversity of a subarctic Lithothamnion glaciale bed. show unconsolidated fram...

In this study we present a comparative quantification of CaCO3 production rates by rhodolith-forming coralline red algal communities situated in high polar latitudes and assess which environmental parameters control these production rates. The present rhodoliths act as ecosystem engineers, and their carbonate skeletons provide an important ecological niche to a variety of benthic organisms. The...

Abstract Rhodolith distribution, morphology, and cryptofauna have been minimally studied on fringing reefs. We present the first study to examine both rhodolith distribution associated in a tropical reef, located along microtidal, wave-dominated north shore of Moorea, French Polynesia. find higher abundances larger, rounder, more branching rhodoliths locations where longer waves impact reef. Am...

Climate driven range shifts are driving the redistribution of marine species and threatening functioning stability ecosystems. For that structural basis ecosystems, such effects can be magnified into drastic loss ecosystem resilience. Rhodoliths unattached calcareous red algae provide key complex three-dimensional habitats for highly diverse biological communities. These globally distributed bi...

Rhodoliths are unattached calcareous red algae that form extensive beds. Although rhodolith beds are widely distributed in temperate and tropical areas, a recent discovery in the North Pacific Ocean represents a significant northward extension of known rhodolith distribution. This bed, located in Prince William Sound, Alaska, is composed of one rhodolith species, Phymatolithon calcareum, with t...