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In Fiji, this species is found in the high subtidal or lower intertidal zones of relatively sheltered rockflats or mudflats and sandbanks, restricted to areas where persistent low water salinity is likely rare; in Laucala Island, Suva Harbour, Acanthophora spicifera were attached to rocks in the intertidal zone (Ref. 82232). Connor (1983) reported that plant size and condition of Panamanian Acanthophora decreased during the hot windless season (November-January) in combination with low tides. Small Acanthophora spicifera were found in Nasese/Nasova (near Ratu Sukuna Road junction), Suva Harbour attached to rocks; there was abundance of these plants in Salia Reef (navigation mark opposite Nasova Police College), attached by holdfasts to rubble and soft corals; in Kaba Peninsula, these were common on rocky areas of the intertidal, usually on the headlands along this coast and particularly within 1 km of Kaba Point itself; along the water line of Nukusasa sandbar there were unattached fragments of this species. A lot of Acanthophora spicifera plants were growing on the rocky weather side of Tokatoka in Kubu Reef; in in Cakalevu Reef. these were attached to rocks in deeper water at the reef's edge; in the south coast of Viwa Island, along the fringing rocky shelf, these plants were quite common down to about 1 m depth (Ref. 82232). C: Refs. 80701, 81001, 82232, 82427. |