Warm Temperate Seaweed Communities: A Case Study of Deep Water Kelp Forests from the Alboran Sea (SW Mediterranean Sea) and the Strait of Gibraltar

Abstract

Kelp forests are one of the most characteristic seaweed communities in the sublittoral of temperate oceans. Moreover, there is great concern about kelp forests because they are considered to be some of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. However, some of these communities are almost unknown or only scarcely and sporadically studied, because of their inaccessibility in deep waters. The aim of this contribution is to review the present knowledge of the singular deep water kelp forests of Laminaria ochroleuca and Saccorhiza polyschides, and the kelp beds of Phyllariopsis brevipes and Phyllariopsis purpurascens, from the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea (SW Mediterranean Sea). This review focuses on the biogeography of these species, analysis of the abiotic factors affecting the seaweed communities, their growth and reproduction strategies, an assessment of conservation, and the prospect for further studies.