Macroalgae associated with aerial roots of <i>Rhizophora mangle</i> in Islas del Rosario, Colombia, Southwestern Caribbean

Abstract

The roots of the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, provide a nursery habitat for many species, due to the tridimensional structure they provide, which delimits an area difficult to access to large predators. Moreover, they provide a hard substrate for many benthonic species, which attach to the roots and contribute to the tridimensional structure of the ecosystem. Among these organisms, there are several macroalgae, which contribute to the primary productivity of the ecosystem and provide food and shelter to herbivores. In the present study we identified the macroalgae associated with the roots of Rhizophora mangle, in Cholón beach, Rosario Islands National Park, Caribbean Colombia. We report a total of 36 species of macroalgae: 21 Rhodophyta, eleven Chlorophyta, and four Phaeophyceae. Of these, 19 are new records for the islands, and six are new records for Colombia. This is the first study on the macroalgae associated with mangrove roots in the Colombian Caribbean, and it highlights both the high diversity of the marine flora of the Southwestern Caribbean, as well as the paucity of studies on the topic.

Composición florística de macroalgas asociadas a Rhizophora mangle (Rhizophoraceae) en dos ensenadas del Caribe venezolano

“…Out of the macroalgae identified in this work, seven are new records for the Gulf of Cariaco: Anadyomene sp., C. verticillata, H. tuna, U. rigida, H. spinella, D. implexa, and D. delicatula. The high diversity and abundance values of algae associated with R. mangle roots in the Caribbean are related to the stability of factors such as salinity, water transparency, irradiation, temperature, and the moderate amplitude of the tides, in addition to the greater availability of hard substrates, among them corals, limestones, and mangrove roots, which generate dynamics that favor the richness of phycoflora associated with red mangrove roots (Ríos et al, 2019;Salazar-Forero et al, 2021). The composition of algae associated with red mangrove roots in the Carenero and Turpialito coves is characteristic of mangroves in the Caribbean (Taylor, 1960;Cordeiro-Marino et al, 1992;Salazar-Forero et al, 2021), as it is made up of species that generally inhabit spaces protected by calm and shallow waters.…”

“…En el Caribe de Panamá se describió la zonación vertical de macroalgas en las raíces de R. mangle, identificándose once especies del phylum Rhodophyta, de las cuales Bostrychia montagnei, B. moritziana, B. tenella, Polysiphonia howei, P. scopulorum, A. spicifera y C. caespitosa, fueron las más abundantes (Ríos et al, 2019), mientras que en el Caribe suroccidental colombiano, se registra la mayor diversidad de macroalgas epibentonicas asociadas al sistema de raíces de R. mangle (Salazar-Forero et al, 2021) constituida por 36 especies de macroalgas (21 Rhodophyta, once Chlorophyta y cuatro Phaeophyceae). No obstante, estos últimos estudios destacan la necesidad de incrementar el conocimiento de la biodiversidad, distribución…”

“…In the Panama Caribbean, Ríos et al (2019) described the vertical zoning of macroalgae in the roots of R. mangle, identifying 11 species of the phylum Rhodophyta, out of which Bostrychia montagnei, B. moritziana, B. tenella, Polysiphonia howei, P. scopulorum, Acanthophora spicifera, and Caulerpa caespitosa were the most abundant; while, in the Colombian southwestern Caribbean, 36 species have been reported which are associated to the R. mangle root system (Salazar-Forero et al, 2021), constituted by 21 Rhodophyta, 11 Chlorophyta, and four Phaeophyceae. Nevertheless, these last studies highlight the need to generate more knowledge on the biodiversity, distribution, and seasonality of the phycofloristic y estacionalidad de la comunidad ficoflorística asociada al mangle rojo, para comprender mejor la dinámica y servicio ecológico que éstas brindan en los manglares en el Caribe.…”

Present and Future of Seaweed Cultivation and Its Applications in Colombia

“…Since the listing of Rincón-Díaz and Gavio [60], nine new species have been reported from the Caribbean, five from the Seaflower International Biosphere Reserve [62], and four from the Rosario Islands [63].…”

Listado actualizado y nuevos registros de macroalgas para el Golfo de Morrosquillo, Caribe colombiano

“…The studies of the marine algal flora of the Caribbean coast of Colombia have been focused on the eastern area towards Santa Marta (Schnetter, 1969;Bula-Meyer and Díaz-Pulido, 1995;Díaz-Pulido and Díaz-Ruíz, 2003;Vega-Sequeda et al, 2008;Camacho and Montaña-Fernández, 2012;Gómez-Cubillos, 2018;Cabarcas and García-Ureña, 2020), Rosario islands near Cartagena (Salazar-Forero et al, 2021), and La Guajira peninsula (Díaz-Pulido, 2000;Mendoza-Castro and Suarez-Acuña, 2018;Vasquez-Carrillo and Sullivan, 2018;Puccini and Molina, 2022;Gavio et al, 2022b). Phycological research in the International Biosphere Reserve Seaflower, oceanic archipelago located in the western Caribbean, has been extensive (e.g., Díaz-Puli-do and Bula-Meyer, 1997;Ortiz and Gavio, 2010;Gavio 2011, 2015;Rincón-Díaz, 2014;Gavio et al, 2015;Rincón-Díaz and Ramos, 2016;Rincón-Díaz et al, 2018;Reyes-Gómez et al, 2021;Gavio et al, 2022a;Daza, 2023).…”