Journal
BOTANICA MARINA
Volume 61, Issue 2, Pages 103-110Publisher
WALTER DE GRUYTER GMBH
DOI: 10.1515/bot-2017-0104
Keywords
Canary Islands; Halimeda; La Palma island; offshore meadows; sandy bottoms; tropicalization
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Funding
- project Benthic communities cartography of La Palma - World Biosphere Reserve La Palma Consortium
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Extensive offshore meadows of Halimeda incrassata are documented for the first time in sandy bottoms of La Palma, Canary Islands. Halimeda incrassata forms dense sublittoral assemblages between 20 and 55 m, but isolated populations occur down to 65 m depth. This species currently spreads over an area of 9.14 ha. Population coverage varies with depth, with the highest values at 3540 m and an average cover of 62.34%. The calcified segments of H. incrassata act as a stable substratum in these soft bottoms for the growth of other macroalgae, such as the rhodophytes Lophocladia trichoclados and Cottoniella filamentosa. Specimens reach lengths of up to 10 cm, shorter than individuals from the Caribbean. Although it is difficult to ascertain whether this species is a recent introduction, there is evidence of a correlation between the increase in population coverage and recent ocean warming, constituting another example of the tropicalization of the marine flora of this region.
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