Marine epiphytic diatoms from the shallow sublittoral zone in Potter Cove, King George Island, Antarctica

Marine epiphytic diatoms in the Antarctic Peninsula have not been studied in detail previously, and information on their distribution and occurrence is scarce. We studied the marine epiphytic diatoms on several species of macroalgae belonging to the Rhodophyta, Phaeophyceae and Chlorophyta. We recorded a total of 50 epiphytic diatoms, with Cocconeis spp., Entopyla australis var. gigantea, Grammatophora arctica, Licmophora antarctica and Pseudogomphonema kamtschaticum the most common taxa. Diatoms appeared to have substratum preferences rather than site preferences. The most frequent hosts for diatom attachment were the rhodophytes Pantoneura plocamioides, Delesseria lancifolia and Georgiella confluens. Phaeophytes were less favourable hosts, and no diatoms were recorded on the chlorophytes.