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First record of the green alga Halimeda (Bryopsidales: Chlorophyta) at Rocas Atoll—natural dispersion or anthropogenic causes?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2014

Marina Nasri Sissini ,
Guilherme O. Longo ,
Cintia D. Leal Martins ,
Sergio R. Floeter ,
Sonia Barreto Pereira  and
Paulo Antunes Horta
Marina Nasri Sissini
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis/SC, Brazil, 88040-970
Guilherme O. Longo
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis/SC, Brazil, 88040-970
Cintia D. Leal Martins
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis/SC, Brazil, 88040-970
Sergio R. Floeter
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis/SC, Brazil, 88040-970
Sonia Barreto Pereira
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife/PE, Brazil, 52171-030
Paulo Antunes Horta*
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis/SC, Brazil, 88040-970
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: P.A. Horta, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil, 88040-970 email: pahorta@ccb.ufsc.br
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Abstract

Rocas is the only atoll in the south-western Atlantic and comprises a shallow platform area of about 360 km2, distant 230 km from the continent and 130 km from Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, in Brazil. Since the 1970s, its marine flora has received the attention of several authors, giving rise to considerable and well-established knowledge about its algal biodiversity, with a total of 143 seaweed species reported for the area. Previous efforts stressed the interesting absence of the green algae Halimeda, usually abundant in tropical reefs and one of the most important seaweed groups in the structure of the tropical benthic community. Herein, we report for the first time the presence of Halimeda opuntia at Rocas, collected during an expedition in January 2012. Based on phylogenetic analysis, was proposed that H. opuntia was originated in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and that its establishment in Brazil was independent from populations of the Caribbean as a whole and the Bahamas in particular. Another hypothesis is the current scenario of increased frequency and intensity of extreme events along the Brazilian coast, which could explain the transport of propagules from adjacent areas towards the atoll.

Keywords

Halimeda opuntiaSouth Atlanticdispersionoceanic islandstidal poolsreef flat
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 7 , 2014 , e104
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

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