Marine algal (seaweed) flora of Faial Island, Azores.

Background: A comprehensive checklist of the marine flora from Faial Island, mid-north Atlantic, is still unavailable, despite the numerous works that gathered data around its coasts for over 150 years. This study brings together and harmonises all macroalgae collections and taxonomical records from multiple projects and teams over the last thirty years.The result is a list of taxonomic records and georeferenced species occurrence data that substantially increases our knowledge of the coastal Azorean marine biodiversity while providing key information for future ecological studies and to support local, marine management and conservation. New information: A total of 2283 specimens belonging to 118 taxa of macroalgae are registered here, comprising 61 Rhodophyta, 26 Chlorophyta, 30 Ochrophyta (Phaeophyceae) and one Cyanophyta (Cyanobacteria). From these, 26 taxa are identified only at the genus level and 92 to species level (47 Rhodophyta, 21 Chlorophyta and 24 Ochrophyta). The list comprises 75 native species, 12 records of uncertain origin and five introductions (Caulerpaprolifera (Forsskål) J.V.Lamouroux, Caulerpawebbiana Montagne, Hydroclathrustilesii (Endlicher) Santiañez & M.J.Wynne, Asparagopsisarmata Harvey and Symphyocladiamarchantioides (Harvey) Falkenberg). Codiumelisabethiae O.C.Schmidt represents the only Macaronesian endemism known on the Island. Twenty-three species are newly recorded to the algal flora of the Island.

Marine algal flora of São Miguel Island, Azores.

BACKGROUND: The macroalgal flora of the Island of São Miguel (eastern group of the Azores Archipelago) has attracted the interest of many researchers in the past, the first publications going back to the nineteenth century. Initial studies were mainly taxonomic, resulting in the publication of a checklist of the Azorean benthic marine algae. Later, the establishment of the University of the Azores on the Island permitted the logistic conditions to develop both temporal studies and long-term research and this resulted in a significant increase on research directed at the benthic marine algae and littoral communities of the Island and consequent publications.Prior to the present paper, the known macroalgal flora of São Miguel Island comprised around 260 species. Despite this richness, a significant amount of the research was never made public, notably Masters and PhD theses encompassing information regarding presence data recorded at littoral and sublittoral levels down to a depth of approximately 40 m around the Island and the many collections made, which resulted in vouchers deposited in the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha and the LSM- Molecular Systematics Laboratory at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of the Azores.The present publication lists the macroalgal taxonomic records, together with information on their ecology and occurrence around São Miguel Island, improving the knowledge of the Azorean macroalgal flora at local and regional scales. NEW INFORMATION: A total of 12,781 specimens (including some identified only to genus) belonging to 431 taxa of macroalgae are registered, comprising 284 Rhodophyta, 59 Chlorophyta and 88 Ochrophyta (Phaeophyceae). Of these, 323 were identified to species level (212 Rhodophyta, 48 Chlorophyta and 63 Ochrophyta), of which 61 are new records for the Island (42 Rhodophyta, 9 Chlorophyta and 10 Ochrophyta), one an Azorean endemic (Predaea feldmannii subsp. azorica Gabriel), five are Macaronesian endemisms (the red algae Botryocladia macaronesica Afonso-Carrillo, Sobrino, Tittley & Neto, Laurencia viridis Gil-Rodríguez & Haroun, Millerella tinerfensis (Seoane-Camba) S.M.Boo & J.M.Rico, Phyllophora gelidioides P.Crouan & H.Crouan ex Karsakoff and the green alga Codium elisabethiae O.C.Schmidt), 19 are introduced species (15 Rhodophyta, two Chlorophyta and two Ochrophyta) and 32 are of uncertain status (21 Rhodophyta, five Chlorophyta and six Ochrophyta).

Range Extension of Mesophotic Kelps (Ochrophyta: Laminariales and Tilopteridales) in the Central North Atlantic: Opportunities for Marine Forest Research and Conservation.

Kelp was first recorded for the remote warm-temperate Azores archipelago (central North Atlantic) in 1971, when a few Laminaria specimens were collected on the Formigas Bank at depths beyond conventional SCUBA diving reach. A shortage of technical means and projects targeting mesophotic environments has since kept this offshore marine protected area as the single known kelp occurrence site. Here, we present new kelp records collected on previously unexplored mesophotic reefs using remote imaging systems, open- and closed-circuit SCUBA diving, and fisheries bycatch information. The new data extend the known distribution range of kelp in the Azores 350 km to the west and 25 km to the southwest, henceforth including several island shelves in the eastern and central Azores. In addition to the previously recorded Laminaria ochroleuca, kelp specimens with a morphology akin to Phyllariopsis brevipes subsp. brevipes are also reported. For the first time, seabed imagery is used to document the depth-wise diversity of the Azores kelp beds and their associated biota. Our findings emphasize the poor knowledge that persists in regard to Macaronesia's mesophotic environments located beyond conventional SCUBA diving limits. The new on-shelf kelp occurrences add conservation value to coastal areas and should facilitate island-based research. However, their greater proximity to land-based impacts and exposure to climate change also raise management needs.

Marine algal flora of Graciosa Island, Azores.

BACKGROUND: The macroalgal flora of Graciosa (central group of Azores archipelago) is poorly known, with only 116 species recorded so far (authors personal data). The published information reflects occasional collections from sporadic field visits to the Island. To overcome this, a thorough investigation under the Expedition "GRACIOSA/2004", the Campaigns "PADEL/2006", "MACROBIOLMOL/2014" and "PIMA-BALA/2017" involving sample collecting and presence data recording, was undertaken over an area of 19 km2 encompassing littoral and sublittoral levels down to about 40 m around the Island. This paper lists the taxonomic records and provides information on species ecology and occurrence around the Island improving the knowledge of the Azorean macroalgal flora at both local and regional scales. NEW INFORMATION: A total of 1692 specimens belonging to 250 taxa of macroalgae (and including 55 taxa identified only at the genus level) are registered, comprising 166 Rhodophyta, 36 Chlorophyta and 48 Ochrophyta (Phaeophyceae). From these, 195 are identified to the species level (126 Rhodophyta, 31 Chlorophyta and 38 Ochrophyta) and comprise 156 native, 20 of uncertain origin and 14 introductions to the Island. Predaea feldmannii subsp. azorica Gabriel is an Azorean endemic, whereas Codium elisabethiae O.C. Schmidt, Botryocladia macaronesica Afonso-Carrillo, Sobrino, Tittley & Neto, Phyllophora gelidioides P.Crouan & H.Crouan ex Karsakoff and Laurencia viridis Gil-Rodríguez & Haroun represent Macaronesian endemics. Seventy-nine species are newly recorded to the algal flora of the Island.