Phyllospora comosa

Phyllospora comosa, known as crayweed, is a species of brown algae in the Seirococcaceae family. It forms temperate seaweed forests that are important as habitat for many marine species and also for producing oxygen and capturing atmospheric carbon.

Taxonomy

Phyllospora comosa is commonly known as crayweed. It is a species of brown algae in the Seirococcaceae family.

Description

Crayweed grows up to in length and forms dense, shallow forests.

Distribution

Crayweed is found in the oceans around Australia and New Zealand. It is abundant in cooler waters along the south-eastern coastline of Australia, around Tasmania and in South Australia. It occurs to a depth of around on the east coast and farther south to about. On some Tasmanian coasts it can occur depths of at. It used to occur around Sydney, but disappeared from metropolitan areas under pressure from human activities during the 1970s and 1980s.
The algae have a central main axis, usually up to long, which bear many branches along their length, with closely arranged, leaf-like laterals. Some laterals have conceptacles, in which develop cells which produce sperm and eggs. The strongly seasonal growth of the algae depends on the length of daylight; it occurs from apical cells and is restricted to the top of the branches.

Ecological significance

Crayweed forests are important as habitat for many marine species and also for producing oxygen and capturing atmospheric carbon.

Conservation efforts in Sydney

A conservation effort known as "Operation Crayweed" has been working to re-establish the species in the waters around Sydney. Transplants have been established at sites including Malabar, Coogee, Little Bay, Freshwater, and Bondi; other transplants were being planned for Newport and Dee Why as of 2020.
In 2022 Operation Crayweed was absorbed into a larger biodiversity restoration project, led by the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, called Project Restore, with funding from the NSW Government.