Abstract

The roots of the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, provide a nursery habitat for many species, due to the tridimensional structure they provide, which delimits an area difficult to access to large predators. Moreover, they provide a hard substrate for many benthonic species, which attach to the roots and contribute to the tridimensional structure of the ecosystem. Among these organisms, there are several macroalgae, which contribute to the primary productivity of the ecosystem and provide food and shelter to herbivores. In the present study we identified the macroalgae associated with the roots of Rhizophora mangle, in Cholón beach, Rosario Islands National Park, Caribbean Colombia. We report a total of 36 species of macroalgae: 21 Rhodophyta, eleven Chlorophyta, and four Phaeophyceae. Of these, 19 are new records for the islands, and six are new records for Colombia. This is the first study on the macroalgae associated with mangrove roots in the Colombian Caribbean, and it highlights both the high diversity of the marine flora of the Southwestern Caribbean, as well as the paucity of studies on the topic.

Highlights

  • Mangrove forests are tropical coastal ecosystems with a very high productivity and a complex food web, which support a great variety of organisms (López et al 2009) and provide many ecosystem services

  • In the present study we identified the macroalgae associated with the roots of Rhizophora mangle, in Cholón beach, Rosario Islands National Park, Caribbean Colombia

  • 19 species are new records for the islands, and six others are new records for Colombia: Bostrychia montagnei Harvey (Figs 2b-c), Ceramium brevizonatum var. caraibicum H.E.Petersen & Børgesen (Figs 2d-f), Dasya caraibica Børgesen (Figs 3a-b), Melanothamnus pseudovillum (Hollenberg) Díaz-Tapia & Maggs, Parviphycus setaceus (Feldmann) J.AfonsoCarrillo, M.Sanson, C.Sangil & T.Diaz-Villa (Figs 3c-d), and Wittrockiella salina V.J.Chapman (Figs 3e-f). 53 % of the taxa recorded in the present paper are new additions for the local marine flora, while 17 % are new records for Colombia

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Summary

Introduction

Mangrove forests are tropical coastal ecosystems with a very high productivity and a complex food web, which support a great variety of organisms (López et al 2009) and provide many ecosystem services. It has been proved that the algae on the prop roots may equal or surpass the primary productivity of mangrove trees (Rodriguez and Stoner 1990), and the macroalgal-derived detritus is exported from mangrove forests to adjacent ecosystems. There is a plethora of studies on macroalgal communities associated with mangrove prop roots There are no studies on the macroalgal flora associated with mangrove roots along the Caribbean coast of Colombia (Cordeiro-Marino et al 1992), despite the great extension of mangrove forest (54 010 hectares, INVEMAR 2019) the region harbors. We present the first study on the macroalgae epiphytic on aerial roots of Rhizophora mangle L. at Cholón beach, Islas del Rosario National Park, Colombia

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