First record of seagrass in Cape Verde, eastern Atlantic

Abstract Background The Cape Verde archipelago consists of 10 volcanic islands in the eastern Atlantic Ocean located 570 km off the coast of Western Africa. While the shallow benthic communities have been studied in some detail no seagrasses have been previously reported for the Republic of Cape Ver...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Creed, Joel, Engelen, Aschwin, D´Oliveira, Emanuel, Bandeira, Salomão, Serrão, Ester
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: BioMed Central Ltd. 2016
Subjects:
Cape Verde
Distribution
Halodule wrightii
Morphology
Population
Seagrass
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://www.mbr.biomedcentral.comcontent/9/1/57
Description
Summary:Abstract Background The Cape Verde archipelago consists of 10 volcanic islands in the eastern Atlantic Ocean located 570 km off the coast of Western Africa. While the shallow benthic communities have been studied in some detail no seagrasses have been previously reported for the Republic of Cape Verde. Results The seagrass Halodule wrightii Ascherson was found and described at one location at Praia, Santiago Island. There it formed a number of patches (≈10) covering a total of ≈ 20 m 2 at 1.4–1.6 m depth on fine sand soft bottoms. Some population characteristics are also reported. Two other sites with seagrass are also reported for the first time. Conclusion The current record fills a knowledge gap regarding the distribution of seagrasses in the Tropical North Atlantic and it is expected that seagrasses will be found at other suitable sites within the archipelago.

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