Marine algae of the island of Flores, Azores : ecology and floristics

Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium of Fauna & Flora of the Atlantic Islands, Las Palmas, Fevereiro 1996.Preliminary results of an extensive field survey of the marine algal flora of Flores are presented. Intertidal and subtidal algal zonation and community structure were investigated by sampling quadrats along transect lines. Intertidal areas were characterised by successive zones of barnacles, algal turf (Gelidium spp., Centroceras clavulatum, Laurencia spp. and other algae), and Corallina sp., Pterocladia capillacea and Asparagopsis armata near low water level. At subtidal levels, assemblages were characterised by crustose Corallinaceae and A. armata in shallow waters, and by Stypocaulon scoparium and Zonaria tournefortii at greater depths. New species recorded for the Azores and for Flores are reported; the overall flora of Flores in comparison to other islands in the archipelago is less species-rich with 125 species recorded so far