The marine algal (seaweed) flora of the Azores: additions and amendments.

Copyright © 2005 by Walter de Gruyter.Thirteen species of benthic marine algae are reported new for the isolated mid-Atlantic Azores archipelago and five older records are confirmed. Seven (Bangia atropurpurea, Codium fragile spip. tomentosoides, Ectocarous fasciculatus, E siliculosus, Porphyrostromium ciliare, Ulothrix flacca and Ulvaria oxysperma) are widespread amphi-Atlantic species some of which extend in distributional range south to the Canary Islands. Cryptonemia seminervis, Ctenosiphonia hypnoides and Phyllophora sicula are known from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean only and also occur in the Canary Islands. The Azores archipelago is the western limit of distribution of Codium fragile ssp. atlanticum, Bostrychia scorpioides, Bryopsis cupressina, Erythroglossum laciniatum, Haliptilon squamatum and Phyllophora sicula, and the southern limit of C. fragile ssp. atlanticum and E laciniatum. The tropical species Phyllodictyon anastomosans, Valonia macrophysa and Wurdemannia miniata reach their northern limit of distribution there. Asparagopsis taxiformis is now less common possibly due to competition with the non-native A. armata; subspecies of the non-native C. fragile now occur widely in the Azores. The status of Fucus vesiculosus, Ulva (Enteromorpha) clathrata and Rhizoclonium tortuosum is clarified and other species have been removed from the flora. The continuing addition of new species records for the Azores shows the archipelago to be floristically richer than other Atlantic islands except for the Canary Islands

Rocky shore marine flora of the Azores

“[…]. O principal objectivo deste livro é fornecer informação útil aos visitantes da zona das marés nos Açores e chamar a sua atenção para estas plantas muitas vezes ignoradas. Existem cerca de 400 espécies de macroalgas marinhas nos Açores. As maiores são fáceis de encontrar, mas muitas só são visíveis à lupa ou microscópio. Neste livro incluem-se descrições e ilustrações de 46 espécies (44 algas, 1 cianobactéria, 1 líquen) relativamente fáceis de encontrar e identificar. Os leitores são elucidados sobre a melhor forma de as encontrar, bem como sobre aspectos básicos da respectiva morfologia e valor natural e/ou comercial. Para os leitores interessados, são ainda sugeridas publicações mais especializadas sobre o assunto. O livro inclui um glossário com os termos técnicos utilizados nas descrições apresentadas.”ABSTRACT: “[…]. The aim of this booklet is to make some of this new information available to the interested visitor to the sea-shore, and to provide an introduction to these often overlooked plants. Not all the species that occur in the Azores (approximately 400) are considered here; many are small in size and seen only with the aid of a microscope, others may be larger but are inconspicuous forms difficult to recognise. We present a synopsis of the seaweed flora of the Azores through pictures and brief descriptions of 46 species (44 seaweeds, 1 cyanobacterium, 1 lichen) that can be found without too much difficulty. We also present some basic facts as to what seaweeds are and what they look like, where they grow, and their value to the natural world as well as to mankind. For those wanting more information some references to other publications are given.”Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e do Mar / Universidade dos Açores / Natural History Museum / CRUP - Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas

Additions to the Marine Algal (Seaweed) Flora of the Azores.

Copyright © 2001 by Walter de Gruyter.Ten species of benthic marine algae, new distribution records for the Azores achipelago, are itemised; two other species records (Heterosiphonia crispella and Laminaria ochroleuca) are confirmed for the islands. Six species (Bryopsis pennata, Cottoniella filamentosa, Dasya baillouviana, Feldmannia paradoxa, Heterosiphonia crispella and Lomentaria clavellosa) show an amphi-Atlantic distribution pattern; four (Bonnemaisonia asparagoides, Laminaria ochroleuca, Pterosphonia ardreana and Stylonema cornu-cervi) show a European-African-Mediterranean distribution pattern. The occurrence of Dudresnaya crassa, a western Atlantic warm-water species, represents an extension of its known distributional range to the east. An Ahnfeltiopsis was found which resembled A. intermedia, a species that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean to the south of the Azores

Structure and zonation of algal communities in the bay of São Vicente (São Miguel, Azores)

An appraisal of the benthic marine algal communities of the bay of São Vicente (São Miguel island. Azores) was undertaken in July 1996 and July 1997 as part of the project "Biodiversity of the archipelago of the Azores". A permanent transect was laid down across the subtidal zone. Quadrates were sampled at pre-determined intervals along the transect from the low water level, down to 30m depth. Qualitative collections were made along the transect. The relative importance of each species was determined using a semi-quantitative scale. The transect revealed the occurrence of relatively large and frondose algae establishing the transition between the intertidal and the subtidal zones. Pterocladiella capillacea was the dominant species in this transition zone and extended its presence down to 12m depth. A depth-related change in the algal flora was present in both years. Pteroclardiella, Ulva spp., Stypocaulon scoparia, Hypnea musciformis and Asparagopsis armata dominated the shallow levels; Zonaria tournefortii, together with Sphaeroroccus coronopifolius and Dictyota dichotoma dominated the deep ones

Subtidal Rocky Shore Communities of the Azores: Developing a Biotope Survey Method

Copyright © 2008 Coastal Education and Research Foundation.At 23 sites selected randomly around the island of S o Miguel (Azores), video records were made at the depths of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 m where a rocky substratum was present. Semiquantitative abundance data of the most common benthic organisms (algae and fixed/sedentary macroinvertebrates) were recorded in the vicinity of each depth reference point. Qualitative samples of the more conspicuous organisms were taken for confirmation of identification in the laboratory. At each site, substratum type, geographical orientation, and depth level were recorded. Multivariate analysis (nonmetric multidimensional scaling; analysis of similarity Anosim tests; similarity percentages Simper analysis) on the collected data enabled patterns of community distribution to be identified, as well as their relationship to abiotic factors. Since depth was found to be the sole determining factor for communities, it was the only one considered in the subtidal biotope survey protocol proposed here

The algal flora of the Azores: a historical and biogeographical approach.

43rd European Marine Biology Symposium. Ponta Delgada, Açores, 8-12 de Setembro de 2008

Life history and morphological studies of Punctaria tenuissima (Chordariaceae, Phaeophyceae), a new record for the Azores

Copyright © 2010 by Walter de Gruyter.Punctaria tenuissima (Chordariaceae, Phaeophyceae) is reported for the first time from the Azores. Erect thalli were collected on the Island of Sa˜o Miguel; they were up to 3 cm long, flattened and often twisted. The plurilocular sporangia were formed from surface cells that were quadrate or rectangular in surface view. Unilocular sporangia were not observed in the field. In culture, the plurispores of P. tenuissima developed into Hecatonema-like, tufted, prostrate thalli that formed plurilocular sporangia. The plurispores of the prostrate thalli cultured at 158C with a long day (LD) photoperiod developed into new prostrate thalli, which in turn formed plurilocular sporangia. This cycle was repeated 5 times, resulting in several generations of reproductive prostrate thalli. When these cultures were cooled to 108C with a short day (SD) photoperiod, new erect thalli developed from the prostrate thalli resembling the thalli collected in the field. These erect blades produced unilocular and plurilocular sporangia on the same or on different thalli. The plurispores and unispores produced by the erect thalli at 108C under SD conditions once again developed into new prostrate thalli. This is the first report of unilocular sporangia formed in cultures of P. tenuissima. Sexual reproduction was not observed. The culture conditions, particularly temperature and daylength, appeared to influence the formation of erect blades. The Punctaria-like thalli were produced in 108C/SD conditions, whilst the Hecatonema-like thalli were produced under 108–158C/LD and SD conditions. These results are similar to those reported for P. tenuissima from other locations and suggest the occurrence of both direct and heteromorphic life histories in the Azorean algae

The marine algal (seaweed) flora of the Azores: 4, further additions

Eight records of seaweeds are reported new to the mid-Atlantic Azores archipelago. Coelothrix irregularis and Lejolisia sp. fall within their overall distributional range. Sebdenia rodrigueziana and Syringoderma floridana have their north-western limit of distribution there. The islands represent the western limit of occurrence for Antithamnionella boergesenii, Aphanocladia stichidiosa, Sebdenia dichotoma, and Codium effusum. The presente and previous papers in this series reveal the extension in range distribution to the west of many of the new records found in the Azores, raising the question as to why the western Atlantic acts as a barrier to dispersal. The new records presented here increase the current total of species recorded on the Azores to 385 (55 Chlorophyta, 74 Heterokontophyta (Phaeophyceae), and 256 Rhodophyta), showing that this isolated island group supports a relatively rich benthic marine algal flora

New records of brown algae (Phaeophyta) from the Azores

Copyright © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.The following five species of microscopic tuft-forming/encrusting brown algae (Phaeophyta) are newly recorded for the Island of São Miguel (Azores): Nemoderma tingitana Schousboe ex Bornet. Pseudolithoderma roscoffense Loiseaux (Lithodermataceae), Hecatonema terminalis (Kutzing) Kylin (Punctariaceae), Compsonema saxicolum (Kuckuck) Kuckuck, and Microspongium gelatinosum Reinke (Scytosiphonaceae). The species are described, and information is presented on their ecology and distribution around the island

A comparison of multispectral aerial and satellite imagery for mapping intertidal seaweed communities

Habitat‐forming seaweeds are vital components of marine ecosystems, supporting immense diversity and providing ecosystem services. Reports of major changes in the distribution and abundance of large brown seaweeds in the north‐east Atlantic are an increasing cause for concern, but a lack of consistent monitoring over time is a key impediment in obtaining reliable evidence of change. There is an urgent need to recognize change rapidly and efficiently in marine communities, which are increasingly affected by pressures of human population growth, climate change, and ocean acidification. Here, the potential for remote monitoring of seaweed habitats is investigated using freely available, high‐resolution aerial and satellite imagery. Three sources of imagery were used: (i) Channel Coastal Observatory (CCO) aerial imagery; (ii) aerial images from the Bing webmap server; and (iii) RapidEye multispectral satellite data. The study area, the Thanet Coast, is an area of chalk outcrop in south‐east England of high conservation status, and includes three Marine Conservation Zones. Eight habitat classes, including brown, red, and green algal zones, were recognized based on ground‐truthing surveys. A multi‐class classification model was developed to predict habitat classes based on the chromatic signature derived from the aerial images. The model based on the high‐resolution CCO imagery gave the best outcome (with a kappa value of 0.89). Comparing predictions for images in 2001 and 2013 revealed habitat changes, but it is unclear as to what extent these are natural variability or real trends. This study demonstrates the potential value for long‐term monitoring with remote‐sensing data. Repeated, standardized coastal aerial imaging surveys, such as those performed by CCO, permit the rapid assessment and re‐assessment of habitat extent and change. This is of value to the conservation management of protected areas, particularly those defined by the presence or extent of specific habitats