The marine algal flora of the Azores: island isolation or Atlantic stepping-stones?

• Main Authors: Tittley, Ian, Neto, Ana I.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: Irish Biogeographical Society 2006
• Subjects: Marine Algae; Azores; North Atlantic Ocean; Biogeography; Ordinations Analysis; Arctic; Stepping Stones; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/2062

Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Fauna and Flora of Atlantic Islands. Dublin, 24-27 August 2004. Ordination analyses was performed on the Chlorophyta, Chromophyta (Phaeophyceae) and Rhodophyta floras of 37 regions of the east and west North Atlantic Ocean from the Arctic to southern Europe, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary and Salvage Islands, and North and South Carolina. Results showed close affinities of the Azores green, brown and red marine algal floras with those of Madeira aand the Canary Islands. Analyses also indicated, particularly for the red algae, trans-Atlantic affinities between the algal floras of Macaronesia and the Carolinas. Low endemicity suggests that the Azores algal flora is not an isolated one. The islands may serve as trans-Atlantic stepping stones in the dispersal distribution of some species but the various elements in the flora suggest the islands to be an Atlantic crossroad.