Biodiversity & Conservation

Channelled wrack - Pelvetia canaliculata

Pelvetia canaliculata

Image Steve Trewhella - Channelled wrack, Pelvetia canaliculata. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Pelvetia canaliculata recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Pelvetia canaliculata is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Ochrophyta Brown and yellow-green seaweeds
Class Phaeophyceae
Authority Decaisne & Thuret, 1845
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland All coasts of Britain and Ireland
Habitat information icon Habitat information Pelvetia canaliculata grows attached to hard substrata on the upper shore. It is found in a band above Fucus spiralis and can tolerate ultra sheltered to moderately exposed conditions.
Text page icon Description A common brown seaweed found high on the shore. It is very tolerant of desiccation surviving up to 8 days out of the water. Pelvetia canaliculata lives for about 4 years and grows up to 15 cm long. The fronds of the algae are curled longitudinally forming a channel.
Identifying features
  • Frond curled longitudinally to form a distinct channel.
  • Without midrib or airbladders.
  • Reproductive bodies at ends of branches.
  • Dichotomously branched.
Additional information icon Additional information Pelvetia canaliculata has an obligate endophytic fungus Mycosphaerella acophylli (Ascomycetes).

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This review can be cited as follows:

Nicola White 2008. Pelvetia canaliculata. Channelled wrack. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 03/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4064>