Subtidal benthic marine algae of the Marine State Park of Laje de Santos (São Paulo, Brazil)

• Published in: Brazilian Journal of Oceanography
• Main Authors: Gilberto M. Amado Filho, Paulo A. Horta, Poliana S. Brasileiro, Maria B. Barros-Barreto, Mutue T. Fujii
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2006
• Subjects: Macroalgas; Novas ocorrências; Sargassum vulgare; Riqueza de espécies; Sublitoral; Tufos de algas; Algal turfs; New records; Species richness; Seaweeds; Subtidal; Oceanography; GC1-1581; South Atlantic Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-87592006000300006; https://doaj.org/article/eae451a4d131493583ea561a5f1b9a99

Laje de Santos Marine State Park has been pointed out as a site of high marine diversity. In spite of its importance to conservation of marine biota no results of investigations about its marine biodiversity have been published. The aim of this work was to characterize the subtidal seaweed flora of this Marine Park. Samplings were performed by scuba diving: a qualitative one that included the subtidal zone down to 26 m depth and other quantitative at two pre-determined depths, 10 and 20 m. Among the 129 taxa identified, 5 species were identified for the first time for the São Paulo State, 3 for the Brazilian coast and 1 for the South Atlantic Ocean. The most abundant algae were Sargassum vulgare and turf composed by geniculate coralline and filamentous groups. The frequency of occurrence of taxa revealed that most of species are restricted to frequencies less than 20 % in all samples. The analyses of the subtidal marine benthic algal flora indicate the Marine State Park of Laje de Santos as a site of elevated species richness and that its floristic composition is related to a benthic community structure dominated by turf-forming groups and population of S. vulgare. O Parque Estadual Marinho da Laje de Santos tem sido apontado como local de elevada diversidade marinha. Apesar de sua importância para a conservação da biota marinha não existem resultados efetivamente publicados. O objetivo deste trabalho é o de caracterizar a flora marinha bentônica desse Parque Marinho. Amostragens foram realizadas por mergulho autônomo: uma qualitativa que incluiu a zona do sublitoral até a profundidade de 26 m e outra quantitativa em duas profundidades pré-determinadas, 10 e 20 m. Dentre os 129 táxons encontrados, foram identificadas pela primeira vez, 5 espécies para o Estado de São Paulo, 3 espécies para o litoral brasileiro e 1 espécie para o Atlântico sul. As algas mais abundantes foram Sargasum vulgare e tufos compostos de coralináceas geniculadas e algas filamentosas. A freqüência de ocorrência dos táxons revelou que a ...