Abstract
In the Eastern Pacific (EP) the only region where rhodolith beds have been well studied in terms of taxonomy, ecology, distribution and conservation status is the Gulf of California. Outside this region the knowledge of rhodolith-forming species is attributed to the initial separate floristic surveys of Dawson and Lemoine, performed more than 50 years ago. After a detailed review of the published literature and information produced during our expeditions throughout the EP, a total of 36 rhodolith-forming species have been recorded from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Guarello Island in Chile. Despite the research efforts developed at present, more species remain to be discovered in the EP, particularly in the Tropical Pacific of Mexico and the Pacific coast of Baja California where we found undescribed species of Sporolithon and Lithothamnion. Therefore, we contend that further studies are needed in order to better catalogue the wide rhodolith-forming species diversity that is extremely relevant for the marine realm of the EP.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Athanasiadis A, Lebednik PA, Adey WH (2004) The genus Mesophyllum (Melobesioideae, Corallinales, Rhodophyta) on the northern Pacific coast of North America. Phycologia 43:126–165
Ávila E, Riosmena-Rodríguez R (2011) A preliminary evaluation of shallow-water rhodolith beds in Bahía Magdalena, Mexico. Braz J Oceanogr 59:365–375
Bittner L, Payri CE, Maneveldt GW, Couloux A, Cruaud C, De Reviers B, Le Gall L (2011) Evolutionary history of the Corallinales (Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta) inferred from nuclear, plastidial and mitochondrial genomes. Mol Phylogenet Evol 61:697–713
Broom JES, Hart DR, Farr TJ, Nelson WA, Neill KF, Harvey AS, Woelkerling Wm J (2008) Utility of psbA and nSSU for phylogenetic reconstruction in the Corallinales based on New Zealand taxa. Mol Phylogenet Evol 46:958–973
Chamberlain YM, Irvine LM (1994) Melobesioideae Bizzozero. In: Irvine LM, Chamberlain YM (eds) Seaweeds of the British Isles, vol 1, Rhodophyta Part 2B Corallinales, Hildenbrandiales. HMSO, London, pp 159–234
Dawson EY (1960a) Marine red algae of Pacific Mexico, part III Cryptonemiales, Corallinaceae Subf.Melobesioideae. Pac Nat 2:3–125
Dawson EY (1960b) New records of marine algae from Pacific Mexico and Central America. Pac Nat 20:31–52
Fernández C (2008) Flora marina del Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, Pacífico Tropical Oriental. Rev Biol Trop 56:57–69
Fernández-García C, Riosmena-Rodríguez R, Wysor B, Tejeda OL, Cortés J (2011) Checklist of the Pacific marine macroalgae of Central America. Bot Mar 54:53–57
Fragoso D, Rodríguez D (2002) Algas coralinas no geniculadas (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) en el Pacífico tropical mexicano. An Inst Biol 73:97–136
Gabrielson PW, Miller KA, Martone PT (2011) Morphometric and molecular analyses confirm two distinct species of Calliarthron (Corallinales, Rhodophyta), a genus endemic to the northeast pacific. Phycologia 50:298–316
Harvey AS, Woelkerling WJ (2007) Ggía para la identificación de rodolitos de algas rojas coralinas no geniculadas (Corallinales, Rhodophyta). Cienc Mar 4:411–426
Hinojosa-Arango G, Riosmena-Rodríguez R (2004) Influence of rhodolith-forming species and growth-form on associated fauna of rhodolith beds in the Central-West Gulf of California, México. PSZNI Mar Ecol 25:109–127
Kato A, Baba M, Suda S (2013) Taxonomic circumscription of the heterogeneous species Neogoniolithon brassica-florida (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in Japan. Phycol Res 61:15–26
Konar B, Riosmena-Rodríguez R, Iken K (2006) Rhodolith bed: a newly discovered habitat in the North Pacific Ocean. Bot Mar 49:355–359
Lemoine M (1929) Les Corallinacées de l’Archipel des Galapagos et du Golfe de Panama. Arch Mus Natl Hist Nat Paris 6(4):37–88
Littler MM, Littler DS (2008) Coralline algal rhodoliths from extensive benthic communities in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Pacific Panama. Coral Reefs 27:553
Macaya EC, Riosmena-Rodríguez R, Melzer RR, Meyer R, Försterra G, Häussermann V (2015) Rhodolith beds in the South-East Pacific. Mar Biodivers 45:153–154
Nuñez-López RA, Casas-Valdez MM, Mendoza-González C, Mateo-Cid LE (1998) Flora ficológica de la laguna San Ignacio, B.C.S. Méx Hidrobiológica 1:33–42
OSPAR Commission (2006) Case reports for the initial list of threatened and/or declining species and habitats in the OSPAR maritime area, Biodiversity series. OSPAR Commission, London. 150 pp
Peña V, Bárbara I (2008) Biological importance of an Atlantic European maërl bed off Benencia Island (northwest Iberian Peninsula). Bot Mar 51:493–505
Peralta-García EC, Rosas-Alquicira EF (2014) Range extension and morphological characterization of rhodolith-forming species (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) from shallow water in the Mexican South Pacific. Helgol Mar Res 68(4):503–510
Riosmena-Rodríguez R, Vásquez-Elizondo RM (2012) Range extension of Mesophyllum engelhartii (Foslie) W.H. Adey (Corallinales; Rhodophyta) to the Gulf of California: morphology, anatomy and reproduction. Bot Mar 55:143–148
Riosmena-Rodríguez R, Woelkerling WJ, Foster MS (1999) Taxonomic reassessment of rhodolith-forming species of Lithophyllum (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the Gulf of California. Mex Phycologia 38:401–417
Riosmena-Rodríguez R, Steller DL, Hinojosa-Arango G, Foster MS (2010) Reefs that rock and roll: the biology and conservation of rhodolith beds in the Gulf of California. In: Brusca R (ed) The gulf of California biodiversity and conservation. Arizona University Press and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, pp 49–71
Riosmena-Rodríguez R, López-Calderón J, Mariano-Meléndez E, Sánchez-Rodríguez A, Fernández C (2012) Size and distribution of rhodolith beds in the Loreto Marine park: their role in coastal processes. J Coast Res 28:255–260
Robinson NM (2013) Sistemática de las especies de algas coralinas (Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta) formadoras de mantos de rodolitos en el Pacífico tropical oriental. Master thesis. University of Baja California Sur (UABCS). La Paz, B.C.S. Mexico, 109 pp
Robinson NM, Hansen GI, Fernández-García C, Riosmena-Rodríguez R (2013) A taxonomic and distributional study of the rhodolith-forming species Lithothamnion muelleri (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Algae 28:63–71
Steller DL, Caceres-Martínez C (2009) Coralline algal rhodoliths enhance larval settlement and early growth of the Pacific calico scallop Agropecten ventricosus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 396:49–60
Steller DL, Riosmena-Rodríguez R, Foster MS, Roberts CA (2003) Rhodolith bed diversity in the Gulf of California: the importance of rhodolith structure and consequences of disturbance. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 13:S5–S20
Woelkerling WJ (1988) The Coralline red algae: an analysis of the genera and subfamilies of Nongeniculate Corallinaceae. British Museum (Natural History) and Oxford University Press, London, 268 pp
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Robinson, N.M. et al. (2017). Eastern Pacific. In: Riosmena-Rodríguez, R., Nelson, W., Aguirre, J. (eds) Rhodolith/Maërl Beds: A Global Perspective. Coastal Research Library, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29315-8_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29315-8_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-29313-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-29315-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)