Ulvophyceae | 
Ulvales | 
Ulvaceae
			
			
			
				Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range				
				
					Ecology				
				
			
			
				Sessile; depth range 0 - 108 m (Ref. 101735).  Subtropical			
			
			
				
			
			
			
				Atlantic Ocean, Indo-Pacific:  Mexico, from Quebec to Argentina, east to Sweden and to South Africa east to India; in the Bay of Bengal, from Bangladesh south to Australia; from China to New Zealand, east to Alaska and south to Chile.  Tropical to polar.
			
			
			
			
			
				Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
			
			
				Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26875)			
			
			
							
				
				
					
						Green thallus; expanded into thin, glossy broad sheets with a lobed or undulating margin. Two layers of cells in cross-section; cells polyhedral in surface view and arranged in rather longitudinal rows. Blades up to 30 cm in length (Ref. 80758).					
				
				
						
			
			
			
			
				
					Edible.  Used as medicine and source of vitamins E, A, and B1 (Ref. 80758).  Also has the potential use as animal feeds in the form of ground meal (Ref. 26875). Grows in intertidal areas exposed to air during low tide, in shallow water near shores, or attached to other seaweed species such as Sargassum (Ref. 80758).  Often detached and free-floating at midtide (Ref. 801).  Abundantly found in areas with varying salinity, and develops rapidly in nutrient-rich waters; thus, common in polluted areas (Ref. 26875).				
			
			
			
			
			
				Life cycle and mating behavior				
					Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae				
			
			
				
									
			
			
			
			
			
				Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry 2009 AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 14 April 2009. (Ref. 80701)
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
					
						IUCN Red List Status    
						 (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
					
					
					
				
			
			
			
			
				CITES status   (Ref. 108899)
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
				Threat to humans  
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
				Human uses  
			
			
				Fisheries: commercial			
			
			
				 | FishSource | 			
			
			
			
			
			
Tools
			
			
			
			
				
					More information				
				
					 Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)Diet compositionFood consumptionPredators   Population dynamicsGrowthMax. ages / sizesLength-weight rel.Length-length rel.Length-frequenciesMass conversionAbundance   Life cycleReproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
  PhysiologyOxygen consumption
  
			 
			
			
			
				Internet sources
			
			
			
			
			
				Estimates based on models
			
			
			
									
						Preferred temperature  					
				 (Ref. 
115969): 6.9 - 28.8, mean 22.9 (based on 5411 cells).			
 
			
			
			
			
			
						
							
				
					
						Fishing Vulnerability  					
					
					
						High vulnerability (60 of 100).