BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Lithothamnion corallioides

Researched by

Angus Jackson

Data supplied by

MarLIN

Refereed by

Dr Christine Maggs

Reproduction/Life History

Reproductive type

Vegetative

Developmental mechanism

Insufficient information

Reproductive Season

Insufficient information

Reproductive Location

Insufficient information

Reproductive frequency

Insufficient information

Regeneration potential

Life span

51-100 years

Age at reproductive maturity

Insufficient information

Generation time

Not relevant

Fecundity

Insufficient information

Egg/propagule size

Insufficient information

Fertilization type

Insufficient information

Larvae/Juveniles
Larval/Juvenile dispersal potential	<10m	Larval settlement period	Insufficient information
Duration of larval stage	Not relevant

Reproduction Preferences Additional Information

Maerl beds in the Sound of Iona are recorded as containing dead nodules up to 4,000 years old. Insufficient information is available on reproductive frequency, fecundity and developmental mechanism. In Britain there is only one record of a fertile plant (found in July). Consequently virtually all propagation must be presumed to be vegetative and therefore dispersal potential is recorded as low. Plants from Brittany are mostly fertile in winter but Adey and McKibbin (1970) recorded a plant from Spain being fertile in August. Cabioch (1969) suggested Lithothamnion corallioides may have phasic reproduction with peaks every six years. This may account for observed changes in the relative proportions of live Lithothamnion corallioides and Phymatolithon calcareum nodules in maerl beds. Dominance cycles with periods of about thirty years have been recorded on some of the maerl beds of northern Brittany.

Reproduction References

Irvine & Chamberlain, 1994, Adey & McKibbin, 1970, Birkett et al., 1998, Cabioch, 1969, Birkett et al., 1998(a),