Abstract
An overview of the biogeography of the benthic marine algae of the North Atlantic Ocean is presented. General and specific distribution patterns are discussed in the light of current knowledge of extant species, and of known events in the evolution of the North Atlantic Ocean. The close relationships between the Arctic, NW and NE Atlantic floras suggest their possible origin as a single flora in the early Oligocene Arctic Ocean, when it was isolated by the Bering Land Bridge and the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Migration of the flora into the North Atlantic Ocean could have occurred with the subsidence of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. The present day distribution patterns are the main clue to unravelling the past, and study of vicariant amphi-Atlantic taxa using a variety of experimental techniques will yield the most valuable information in attempts to interpret major biogeographical events in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Article PDF
Literature Cited
Cambridge, M., Breeman, A. M., Oosterwijk, R. van, & Hoek, C. van den, 1984: Temperature responses of some North AtlanticCladophora species (Chlorophyceae) in relation to their geographic distribution. — Helgoländer Meeresunters.38, 349–363.
Garbary, D. G. 1987. A critique of traditional approaches to seaweed distribution in light of the development of vicariance biogeography. — Helgoländer Meeresunters.41, 235–244.
Henry, E. C. & South, G. R., 1987.Phyllariopsis gen nov. and a reappraisal of the Phyllariaceae Tilden 1935 (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales). — Phycologia,26, 9–16.
Hoek, C. van den, 1975. Phytogeographic provinces along the coasts of the northern Atlantic Ocean. — Phycologia14, 317–330.
Hoek, C. van den, 1982a. The distribution of benthic marine algae in relation to the temperature regulation of their life histories. — Biol. J. Linn. Soc.18, 81–144.
Hoek, C. van den, 1982b. Phytogeographic distribution groups of benthic marine algae in the North Atlantic Ocean. — Helgoländer Meeresunters.35, 153–214.
Hoek, C. van den, 1984. World-wide latitudinal and longitudinal seaweed distribution patterns and their possible causes as illustrated by the distribution of Rhodophytan genera. — Helgoländer Meeresunters.38, 227–257.
Hoek, C. van den & Donze, M., 1967. Algal phytogeography of the European Atlantic coast. —Blumea15, 63–89.
Hooper, R. G. & South, G. R., 1974. A taxonomic reappraisal ofCallophyllis andEuthora (Rhodophyta). — Br. phycol. J.9, 423–428.
Hooper, R. G. & South, G. R., 1977a. Distribution and ecology ofPapenfussiella callitricha (Rosenv.) Kylin (Phaeophyceae, Chordariaceae). — Phycologia16, 153–157.
Hooper, R. G. & South, G. R., 1977b. Additions to the benthic marine flora of Newfoundland, III, with observations on species new to eastern Canada and North America. — Naturaliste Can.104, 383–394.
Joosten, A. M. T. & Hoek, C. van den, 1986. World-wide relationships between red seaweed floras: a multivariate approach. — Botanica mar.29, 195–214.
Lawson, G. W., 1978. The distribution of seaweed floras in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean: a quantitative approach. — Bot. J. Linn. Soc.75, 99–118.
Lindstrom, S. C., 1987. Possible sister groups and pylogenetic relationships among selected North Pacific and North Atlantic red algae. — Helgoländer Meeresunters.41, 245–260.
Lüning, K., 1985. Meeresbotanik. Thieme, Stuttgart 375 pp.
McKenna, M. C., 1983. Cenozoic paleogeography of North Atlantic land bridges. In: Structure and development of the Greenland Scotland Ridge. Ed. by M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxov, M. Talwani & J. Thiede Plenum Press, New York, 351–399.
Searles, R. B., 1984. Seaweed biogeography of the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. —Helgoländer Meeresunters.38, 259–271.
South, G. R. & Hooper, R. G., 1980. Catalogue and atlas of the benthic marine algae of the Island of Newfoundland — Occ. Pap. Biol. Mem. Univ. Nfld3, 1–136.
South, G. R. & Tittley, I., 1986. A checklist and distributional index of the benthic marine algae of the North Atlantic Ocean. Huntsman Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, 76 pp.
Thiede, J. & Eldholm, O., 1983. Speculations about the paleodepth of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge during the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. In: Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Ed. by M. P. H. Bott, S. Saxov, M. Talwani & J. Thiede. Plenum Press. New York, 444–456.
Yarish, C., Breeman, A. M. & Hoek, C. van den, 1986. Survival strategies and temperature responses of seaweeds belonging to different biogeographic distribution groups. — Botanica mar.29, 215–230.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Robin South, G. Biogeography of the benthic marine algae of the North Atlantic Ocean—an overview. Helgolander Meeresunters 41, 273–282 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02366192
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02366192