Probable routes of colonization of the islands of the Azores : patterns and processes of dispersion and colonization of the littoral marine molluscs.

Congresso Português de Malacologia, 16 e 17 de Abril de 2005.The recent marine fauna of the Northeast Atlantic archipelagos of Macaronesia has very different biogeographical affinities (AVILA, 2000a; MALAQUIAS, 2001; AVILA & ALBERGARIA, 2002; AVILA & MALAQUIAS, 2003). Due to its geographical location, the archipelago of the Azores is of crucial importance to understand the patterns and processes of dispersion, colonization and speciation that happened in these islands