Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T20:49:55.110Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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: [email protected]
Get access

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 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bandeira-Pedrosa, M.E., Pereira, S.M.B. and Oliveira, E.C. (2004) Taxonomy and distribution of the green algal genus Halimeda (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) in Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 27, 363–377.Google Scholar
Barnes, D.K. (2002) Invasions by marine life on plastic debris. Nature 416, 808–809.Google Scholar
Gherardi, D.F.M. and Bosence, D.W.J. (1999) Modeling of the ecological succession of encrusting organisms in recent coralline-algal frameworks from Atol das Rocas, Brazil. Palaios 14, 145–158.Google Scholar
Gherardi, D.F.M. and Bosence, D.W.J. (2001) Composition and community structure of the coralline algal reefs from Atol das Rocas, South Atlantic, Brazil. Coral Reefs 19, 205–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillis, L.W., Engman, J.A. and Kooistra, W.H.C.F. (1998) Morphological and molecular phylogenies of Halimeda (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales) identify three evolutionary lineages. Journal of Phycology 34, 669–681.Google Scholar
Hughes, T.P. (1994) Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large-scale degradation of Caribbean coral reef. Science 265, 1547–1551.Google Scholar
Ivar do Sul, J.A., Spengler, A. and Costa, M.F. (2009) Here, there and everywhere. Small plastic fragments and pellets on beaches of Fernando de Noronha (Equatorial Western Atlantic). Marine Pollution Bulletin 58, 1236–1237.Google Scholar
Kooistra, W.H.C.F. and Verbruggen, H. (2005) Genetic patterns in the calcified tropical seaweeds Halimeda opuntia, H. distorta, H. hederaceae, and H. minima (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) provide insights in species boundaries and interoceanic dispersal. Journal of Phycology 41, 177–187.Google Scholar
Luiz, O.J., Madin, J.S., Robertson, D.R., Rocha, L.A., Wirtz, P. and Floeter, S.R. (2012) Ecological traits influencing range expansion across large oceanic dispersal barriers: insights from tropical Atlantic reef fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B 279, 1033–1040.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Machado, A.A., Calliari, L.J., Melo, E. and Klein, A.H.F. (2010) Historical assessment of extreme coastal sea state conditions in southern Brazil and their relation to erosion episodes. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 5, 277–286.Google Scholar
Nugues, M.M., Smith, G.W., van Hooidonk, R.J., Seabra, M.I. and Bak, R.P.M. (2004) Algal contact as a trigger for coral disease. Ecology Letters 7, 919–923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliveira-Filho, E.C. and Ugadim, Y. (1974) Novas referências de algas marinhas bentônicas para a flora brasileira. Boletim de Botânica da Universidade de São Paulo 2, 71–91.Google Scholar
Oliveira-Filho, E.C. and Ugadim, Y. (1976) A survey of the marine algae of Atol das Rocas (Brazil). Phycologia 15, 41–44.Google Scholar
Sales, G. (1991) Plano de Implantação da Reserva Biológica do Atol das Rocas—RN. Natal, Brazil: IBAMA, 38 pp.Google Scholar
Santos, I.R., Friedrich, A.C. and Sul, J.A.I. (2009) Marine debris contamination along undeveloped tropical beaches from northeast Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 148, 455–462.Google Scholar
Silveira, I.C.A. da, Schmidt, A.C.K., Campos, E.J.D., Godoi, S.S. de and Ikeda, Y. (2000) A corrente do Brasil ao largo da costa leste brasileira. Revista Brasileira de Oceanografia 48, 171–183.Google Scholar
Soares, M.O., Paiva, C.C., Godoy, T., Silva, M.B. and Castro, C.S.S. (2010) Gestão ambiental de ecossistemas insulares: O caso da reserva biológica do atol das Rocas, Atlântico Sul Equatorial. Journal of Integrated Coastal Zone Management 10, 347–360.Google Scholar
Villaça, R., Fonseca, A.C., Jensen, V.K. and Knoopers, B. (2010) Species composition and distribution of macroalgae on Atol das Rocas, Brazil, SW Atlantic. Botanica Marina 53, 113–122.Google Scholar
Walters, L.J., Smith, C.M., Coyers, J.A., Hunter, C.L., Beach, K.S. and Vroom, P.S. (2002) Asexual propagation in the coral reef macroalga Halimeda (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales): production, dispersal and attachment of small fragments. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 278, 47–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar