Marine algal (seaweed) flora of Faial Island, Azores

This occurrence dataset lists the macroalgal taxonomic records compiled from occasional collections done at Faial Island (central group of the Azores archipelago) and provides information on each species’ ecology and occurrence on the island’s littoral. Collections were undertaken mainly by Island Aquatic Research Group of the Azorean Biodiversity Centre of the University of the Azores (https://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/sub-team/island-aquatic-ecology) at the littoral and shallow sublittoral levels.

A total of 95 specimens are registered (including taxa identified only at generic level) belonging to 59 taxa of macroalgae comprising 33 Rhodophyta, 15 Chlorophyta and 11 Ochrophyta (Phaeophyceae). From these, 12 are new records for the island, three are introduced, and eight have an uncertain status. Most species were only sporadically observed on the island’s littoral, but five Rhodophyta were commonly found, namely: Chondracanthus acicularis (Roth) Fredericq, Corallina officinalis Linnaeus, Halarachnion ligulatum (Woodward) Kützing, Hypnea musciformis (Wulfen) J.V.Lamouroux and Osmundea hybrida (A. P. de Candolle) K. W. Nam.

Although representing an incomplete list of the seaweeds occurring in Faial, this occurrence dataset is a contribution to the knowledge of the marine alga flora of that island. For each taxon presented, it provides general information on its occurrence on the island’s littoral, and thus contributes to address several biodiversity shortfalls (see Hortal et al. 2015), namely the need to catalogue the Azorean macroalgae (Linnean shortfall) and improve the current information on their local and regional geographic distribution (Wallacean shortfall), as well as on species abundances and dynamics in space (Prestonian shortfall). It aims to provide information for biological studies such as systematics, diversity and conservation, biological monitoring, climate change and ecology, and for academics, students, government, private organizations, and the general public.

Identification

Alternate Identifier: 10.15468/jnkr5k

Alternate Identifier: http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=faial_seaweed_flora

Publication Date: 2020-11-18

Title: Marine algal (seaweed) flora of Faial Island, Azores

Abstract

Dataset Language: ENGLISH

Dataset Creator: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Ana Isabel Neto (Associate professor with aggregation; Macroalgae Curator at the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
http://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/anaisabelneto

Dataset Creator: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Afonso C. L. Prestes (Researcher )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
https://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/afonsoprestes

Dataset Creator: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia - Roberto Resendes (Curator at the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL

Dataset Creator: N/A - Raul M. A. Neto (Bachelor in Biology )

Rua Duque de Saldanha, 10-3Dt , Odivelas , 2675-438 , PORTUGAL

Dataset Creator: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Ignacio Moreu (Researcher )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
https://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/Ignacio_Moreu_Badia

Metadata Provider: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Ana Isabel Neto (Associate professor with aggregation; Macroalgae Curator at the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
http://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/anaisabelneto

Metadata Provider: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Ignacio Moreu (Researcher )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
https://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/Ignacio_Moreu_Badia

Associated Party: AUTHOR
Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Ana Isabel Neto (Associate professor with aggregation; Macroalgae Curator at the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
http://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/anaisabelneto

Associated Party: AUTHOR
Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Ignacio Moreu (Researcher )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
https://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/Ignacio_Moreu_Badia

Dataset Contact: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Biologia and Grupo de Investigação Aquática Insular, IBBC-GBA/cE3c - Ana Isabel Neto (Associate professor with aggregation; Macroalgae Curator at the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha )

Rua da Mãe de Deus, 13-A , Ponta Delgada , São Miguel, Açores , 9500-321 , PORTUGAL
http://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/member/anaisabelneto

Keywords (N/A )

Rhodophyta
introduced
Chlorophyta
native
Macroalgae
seaweeds
Ochrophyta
Faial Island
Azores
occurrence data.
uncertain

Keywords (GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type.xml )

Occurrence

Geographic Coverage

Geographic Description: Faial Island, Azores, Macaronesia, Portugal (approximately 38°39′12″N 28°50′41″W).

Bounding Box

West Bounding Coordinate: -28.845

East Bounding Coordinate: -28.584

North Bounding Coordinate: 38.653

South Bounding Coordinate: 38.501

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Begin Date

1990

End Date

1990

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Begin Date

1999

End Date

1999

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Begin Date

2006

End Date

2006

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Begin Date

2013

End Date

2013

Taxonomic Coverage

General Taxonomic Coverage: All macroalgae were identified to genus or species. In total, 95 taxa were identified belonging to 17 orders and 29 families, distributed by the phyla Rhodophyta (10 orders and 18 families), Chlorophyta (3 orders and 5 families), and Ochrophyta (4 orders and 6 families).

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Rank Name: Phylum

Taxonomic Rank Value: Rhodophyta

Common Name: Red algae

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Rank Name: Phylum

Taxonomic Rank Value: Chlorophyta

Common Name: Green algae

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Rank Name: Phylum

Taxonomic Rank Value: Ochrophyta

Common Name: Brown algae

License Information

Intellectual Rights

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

Projects

• ProjectSeaweeds of Faial Island (Azores)

Title: Marine algal (seaweed) flora of Faial Island, Azores

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: Ana Isabel

Surname: Neto

User ID: 0000-0003-0708-5636

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: Célia

Surname: Albuquerque

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: Gustavo

Surname: Martins

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: Isabel

Surname: Lima

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: João

Surname: Brum

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: Maria

Surname: Vale

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: Norberto

Surname: Serpa

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name: Steve

Surname: Hawkins

Role: CONTENT_PROVIDER

Abstract: To improve the knowledge of Faial Island’s macroalgal flora, seaweed collections were conducted in occasional visits to the island made in the years 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2013. Sampling was mainly done at the littoral level in different locations around the island, and sporadically at subtidal level. This occurrence dataset lists the taxonomic records and provides information on each taxon’s ecology and occurrence in the island’s littoral.

Funding

This study was mainly financed by the following projects/scientific expeditions:

• Portuguese National Funds, through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, within the projects UID/BIA/00329/2019 and UID/BIA/00329/2020-2023

• Portuguese Regional Funds, through DRCT – Direção Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia, within several projects, since 2013

• CIRN/DB/UAc (Research Centre for Natural Resources, Universidade dos Açores, Departamento de Biologia)

• CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, Porto, Portugal).

Study Area Description

Descriptor

The island of Faial, located at the western end of the Central Group of the Azores archipelago (38°39′12″N, 28°50′41″W), 8.3 km west of Pico Island, is 21 km long in an east-west direction and 14 km wide, with an area of 173 km². The highest elevation of the island is the Caldeira, whose highest point is 1043 meters above sea level (Dores 2006).

As in the remaining Azorean Islands, the climate is temperate oceanic, with regular and abundant rainfall, high levels of relative humidity and persistent winds, mainly during winter and autumn (Morton et al. 1998). The island lacks a continental shelf, the tidal range is small (<2 m, see Instituto Hidrográfico 1981) and coasts are subjected to swell and surge most of the year. With and extension of approximately 80 km, the island coastline has several bays and small sandy beaches, flanked by rocky cliffs. Intertidal rocky platforms, with variable width and sometimes dissected by channels and gulleys, can be found in several locations (e.g. Feteira, Capelinhos) and are mostly easily accessible by land (Neto pers. observ.).

The rocky-shore communities of Faial, like all over in the archipelago are macroalgae-dominated at both intertidal and shallow subtidal levels (Tittley & Neto 1994, Neto & Tittley 1995). At the intertidal, a distinct zonation pattern is evident with a higher zone dominated by invertebrates (littorinids and chthamalid barnacles) in which patches of fringes of the algae Fucus spiralis Linnaeus and Gelidium microdon Kützing may occur. This is followed by the mid-shore zone covered by algal turfs composed either by soft algae (e.g. Centroceras, Chondracanthus) and or by articulate calcareous ones (e.g. Corallina and Jania). The lower zone is mainly dominated by calcareous crusts (first strata), covered by corticated macrophytes e.g. Corallina, Pterocladiella (Neto & Tittley 1995).

Design Description

Description: The algae were sampled on occasional collections conducted in a few visits to the island in the years 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2013. Sampling was mainly done at the littoral level in different locations around the island, and sporadically at the subtidal level. Intertidal collections were done at low tide by walking along the shores. Subtidal collections were done by scuba diving. All collected specimens were given an individual registration number and vouchers were deposited at the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha, based at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of the Azores.

Methods

• Method

Method Step

Description

In the laboratory the specimens were accommodated, sorted and studied following standard procedures used in macroalgae identification.

Species identification was based on morphological and anatomical characters and reproductive structures. Identifying small and simple thallus required the observation of the entire thallus with the naked eye and/or using dissecting and compound microscopes. For large and more complex algae, the investigation of the thallus anatomy required histological work to obtain longitudinal and transverse sections needed for the observation of cells, reproductive structures and other diagnosing characteristics.

Various floras and keys from elsewhere were used for species identification, namely Schmidt (1931), Taylor (1967, 1978), Levring (1974), Dixon & Irvine (1977), Lawson & John (1982), Irvine (1983), Gayral & Cosson (1986), Fletcher (1987), Afonso-Carrillo & Sansón (1989), Burrows (1991), Boudouresque et al. (1992), Cabioc'h et al. (1992), Maggs & Hommersand (1993), Irvine & Chamberlain (1994), Brodie et al. (2007), Lloréns et al. (2012) and Rodríguez-Prieto et al. (2013).

For more critical and taxonomically difficult taxa, specimens were taken to the Natural History Museum (London) for comparison with collections there, or sent to appropriate specialists.

A reference collection was made for all specimens collected by giving them an herbarium code number and depositing them at the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha, University of Azores. Depending on the species and on further planned research, different types of collections were made, namely (i) liquid collections using 5% buffered formaldehyde seawater and then replacing it by Kew (Bridsen & Forman 1999); (ii) dried collections, either by pressing the algae (most species) following the method described by Gayral and Cosson (1986) or by letting them air dry (calcareous species); and (iii) silica collections.

Nomenclatural and taxonomic status used here follow Algaebase (Guiry & Guiry, 2020). The database was organized on FileMaker Pro.

Sampling

Study Extent

Collections were performed at littoral and sublittoral levels down to approximately 30 m around the island of Faial.

Sampling Description: Intertidal collections were made at low tide by walking along the shores. Subtidal collections were made by scuba diving. Sampling encompassed both physical collections and species presence recordings. For the former, in each sampling location, collections were made manually by scraping one or two specimens of all different species found into previously labelled bags. The species recording data was gathered by registering all species present in the sampled locations visited. Complementary data e.g. shore level (high, mid, low), orientation and type of substrate (bedrock, boulders, cobbles, mixed), habitat (tide pool, open rock, gully, crevice, cave) was also recorded.

qualityControl

Description: The methodology adopted to identify each sampled taxon comprised morphological and anatomical observations of the whole specimens or slide preparations with the naked eye and using dissecting and compound microscopes, in order to characterize the diagnosing structures described in the literature and compare them with descriptions from other locations. In more difficult cases, specimens were sent to experts for identification.

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Identification

Geographic Coverage

Bounding Box

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Taxonomic Coverage

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Classification

License Information

Projects

Projects

• ProjectSeaweeds of Faial Island (Azores)

Personnel

Individual Name

Personnel

Individual Name

Personnel

Individual Name

Personnel

Individual Name

Personnel

Individual Name

Personnel

Individual Name

Personnel

Individual Name

Personnel

Individual Name

Study Area Description

Design Description

Methods

Methods

• Method

Method Step

Sampling

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