Changes in the species composition of benthic macroalgal communities of the upper subtidal zone on a coral reef in Sanya Bay (Hainan Island, China) during 2009–2012

Abstract

Investigations of macroalgae were carried out on a coral reef at the Luhuitou Peninsula in Sanya Bay (Hainan Island, China) in the upper subtidal zone at a depth of 0.5 to 4 m during the dry season (in April 2009 and 2012). In total, 130 species, varieties, and forms of marine macroalgae were found: 71 (54%) Rhodophyta, 33 (25%) Chlorophyta, and 26 (21%) Phaeophyceae. In terms of the number of species and the floristic composition of algae in the communities, the reef benthic flora in the subtidal zone of Sanya Bay, which is polluted by municipal waste waters and aquaculture wastes, was close to the flora of Indo-Pacific coral reefs situated in areas with low pollution. In 2009 and 2012, the algal turf communities differed both in the algal species diversity and in the composition of dominant species. These differences might be due to an annual periodicity of changes in vegetation: algal turf patches are detached from the hard substrate and a new algal community is formed at this location.