Cystoseira assemblages in the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula: the case of C. baccata.
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1
The University of Coruña, Facultad de Ciencias, Spain
The genus Cystoseira was described by C. Agardh in 1820, including 37 species, although its taxonomy and nomenclature has suffered many changes since then. The Iberian Peninsula contains 24 species of the genus Cystoseira, but only 6 inhabit in Northern Iberia: C. baccata, C. foeniculacea, C. humilis var. myriophylloides, C. nodicaulis, C. tamariscifolia and C. usneoides. The Cystoseira assemblages exhibit a complex structure and stratification that allows the presence of a large associate biota and a rich epiphytic flora. Although in the Mediterranean Sea several species have been analyzed in depth, the Atlantic ones are not well known. Taking into account that there is not much known about Cystoseira communities in the Atlantic Iberian coast, especially in the North coasts, it is necessary to study their assemblages in depth concerning the habitat, the structure, the diversity, the seasonally changes, the disturbing effects, the non-native and invasive species, the long term changes, protected areas, etc. Moreover, in some researches has been detected a regression of the Cystoseira assemblages, which pointed out that some species are sensitive to contamination or environment changes, and the community responds by simplifying its structure.
In this work, we made a revision of the literature (1931-2015) and grey information (herbaria, reports, pictures, unpublished data, etc.) to know the diversity, habitat and distribution of the North Atlantic Iberian Cystoseira assemblages. Environmental issues in the Cystoseira assemblages were also revised, as pollution and anthropogenic pressures or disturbances that cause regression in their communities, and effects of biological invasions by non-native species. The Atlantic Iberian Cystoseira species typically inhabits in the subtidal forming the canopy of the community, from wave exposed to sheltered areas. More than 70 species were present in the majority of the Cystoseira assemblages, the most of them appearing in the C. baccata one. This community harbors the biggest number of algal species (215), followed by C. tamariscifolia and C. usneoides, whereas the community with fewest species was the C. foeniculacea one. The number of epiphytes, non-native species and common ones follow a similar pattern between the Cystoseira communities. Rhodophyta is the most abundant group of algae, followed by Ochrophyta and Chlorophyta. Regarding the non-native algae in the Cystoseira communities, up to twelve species have been reported in the literature, as canopy over rocks and epiphytes. C. baccata and C. usneoides harbor most of the non-native species.
Special effort of sampling and more exhaustive data is present of C. baccata along Northern Iberia, as it is an exclusive and widely distributed Atlantic species, with very scarce information concerning its role in structuring the communities. Currently, we are conducting an extensive research of this assemblage in Northern Iberia. At present, we are collecting samples and data along the Northern Iberia coast in order to study the biodiversity, the distribution, the population extent, the phenology, etc. With all this data, we would be able to make comparisons between localities, what would allow us to figure out the conservation state and assemblages regression process, and make comparisons between geographic localities and historical data.
Keywords:
Subtidal habitats,
Iberian Peninsula,
Cystoseira,
Marine assemblages,
seaweeds
Conference:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
1. ECOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY AND VULNERABLE ECOSYSTEMS
Citation:
García Fernández
A and
Bárbara Criado
I
(2016). Cystoseira assemblages in the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula: the case of C. baccata..
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00133
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Received:
26 Apr 2016;
Published Online:
03 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Mrs. Alicia García Fernández, The University of Coruña, Facultad de Ciencias, A Coruña, Spain, alicia.garcia.fernandez@udc.es