Rhodolith beds at the easternmost extreme of South America: Community structure of an endangered environment |
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Authors: | Pablo Riul Patricia Lacouth Paulo Roberto Pagliosa Martin Lindsey Christoffersen Paulo Antunes Horta |
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Institution: | 1. Departamento de Engenharia e Meio Ambiente, CCAE, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58297-000 Rio Tinto, PB, Brazil;2. Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, CCEN, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58059-900 João Pessoa, PB, Brazil;3. Departamento de Zoologia e Ecologia, Núcleo de Estudos do Mar, CCB, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil;4. Departamento de Botânica, CCB, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, 88010-970 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil |
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Abstract: | Rhodolith beds are built by the aggregation of free living marine benthic coralline algae. Herein, we described phytobenthic communities associated with subtidal rhodolith beds in northeastern Brazil and tested the hypothesis that depth affects their structure. We compared macroalgal assemblages from depths of 10, 15 and 20 m. The genus Lithothamnion was dominant in these beds. Rhodolith density was similar at different depths, but volume decreases as depth increases. Sixty-seven species of fleshy algae were collected. The red algal order Ceramiales was dominant. A distinct community corresponds to each sampled depth. The shallower depth presented higher values for biomass, number of species, Shannon-Wiener diversity, and Pielou's evenness. When depth and water transparency increased, the number of species and the abundance of macroalgae decreased. |
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Keywords: | Maë rl Macroalgae Coralline algae Marine biodiversity Brazil |
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