Diversity and distribution Patterns of the infralittoral green macroalgae from Potiguar basin, Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Diversity and distribution pattern of the infralittoral green macroalgae at Potiguar basin, Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil were analyzed from material collected at depths varying from 2 to 100 m. Collections were carried out with two types of dredges during four campaigns: July 2002, May and November 2003 and May 2004 at 43 stations. Chlorophyta is represented by 54 species, five varieties and three forms. The most representative family is Caulerpaceae, and the most diverse genus is Caulerpa, with 11 species. The results showed that most taxa (89%) are rare, and 10% are present at low frequencies. The most frequent species was Caulerpaprolifera (Forssk.) J.V. Lamour. occurring at almost all coastal and inner shelf stations, recorded in all campaigns. Species distribution by depth range showed that higher species number occurred on the inner shelf from 10 to 20 m, and a wide vertical distribution pattern was registered for Anadyomenestellata (Wulfen in Jacq.) C. Agardh,Chamaedoris peniculum (J. Ellis & Solander) Kuntze, Codium isthmocladum Vickers, Microdictyon sp., Udoteaoccidentalis A. Gepp & E. Gepp and Ventricaria ventricosa (J. Agardh) J.L. Olsen & J.A. West. Four species, Cladophoracoelothrix Kütz., C.ordinata (Børgensen) C. Hoek, Caulerpellaambigua (Okamura) Prud'homme & Lokhorst and Halimedasimulans M. Howe, were recorded for the first time in Rio Grande do Norte.

Composition and Distribution of Deep Water Macroalgae Species from the Continental Shelf of Sergipe State, Brazil

“…Comparing the results of this work with Pereira et al (1981), Pereira (1983) and Cocentino et al (2010) for the subtidal flora (10 and 45 m) of the States of Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba, one can observe a decrease in the number of species, mostly green algae. In these works, 32, 28 and 54 Chlorophyta were found along the continental shelf of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte states, respectively.…”

“…Agardh (1863Agardh ( : 1117 being prominent. Despite the fact that this is an expected pattern for the eastern region, it should be noted that the number of red algae decreased compared to nearby locations such as the states of Pernambuco, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte (Pereira 1977;1983, Pereira et al 1981, Cocentino et al 2010. However, it must be remarked that the number of Ceramiales found in this study was higher than at the sites previously cited.…”

“…Dictyopteris justii and D. polypodioides showed a large frequency (88%) among the studied samples. 20 Heterokontophyta have been recorded for the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco, 15 for Paraíba and 20 for Rio Grande do Norte (Guimarães et al 1981, Ferreira et al 1988, Pereira 1983, Pereira et al 1981, Cocentino et al 2010. Different from the green algae, brown algae were well represented, including species considered to be limited to the Brazilian coast such as Dictyopteris polypodioides (recorded only in the states of Pernambuco, Bahia and Espírito Santo) and Sporochnus bolleanus Montagne (1856: 393) found in the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (Széchy & de Paula 2014).…”

“…More recent investigations have been conducted into the phycological flora of the subtidal region of Gaibu Beach on the coast of Pernambuco (Pereira et al 2007 b), Arvoredo Island in Santa Catarina , Todos os Santos Bay in Bahia (Marins et al 2008), Cabo Frio island in Rio de Janeiro (Villaça et al 2008), the setentrional coast of the Bacia do Potiguar in Rio Grande do Norte (Cocentino et al 2010) and on Santo Aleixo Island in Pernambuco (Carvalho et al 2013). Studies have also been undertaken involving the rhodoliths beds found along the Brazilian coast (Riul et al 2009, Amado-Filho et al 2010, and Francini-Filho et al 2013.…”

Do the shallow‐water habitats of a hypersaline tropical estuary act as nursery grounds for fishes?

“…The soft‐bottom flora of the channel is dominated by the macroalgae Dictyota sp., Solieria filiformes , Gracilaria cearensis and Gracilaria domigensis . Other common vegetation consists of the seagrass Halodule wrightii and the algae Hypnea musciformis (Concentino et al., ). Reef systems occur in the inner shelf at depths between 20 and 30 m approximately 20 km from the coast and are aligned longitudinally NW–SE, which runs parallel with the shoreline (Leão, Kikuchi, & Testa, ; Santos, Vital, Amaro, & Kikuchi, ).…”