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The seaweed flora of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctic

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Abstract

Admiralty Bay is located on the western side of King George Island. Although several research teams of different nationalities have carried out surveys in the region for decades, there are only two publications dealing with the seaweed flora of the bay. Here, we report on a taxonomic survey of the seaweeds we collected during the 25th Brazilian Antarctic Expedition (December 2006/November 2007). We discovered 42 species (21 Rhodophyta, 14 Phaeophyceae, and 7 Chlorophyta), corresponding to an increase of about 31% in the seaweed biodiversity hitherto known for the region. Considering that the Antarctic Peninsula, adjacent to King George Island seems to be one of the most rapidly warming spots on the planet, this kind of survey may provide a valuable tool for detecting eventual changes in seaweed biodiversity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Grant from CNPQ/PROANTAR (Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico/Programa Antártico Brasileiro). Logistical support was provided by SECIRM (Secretaria da Comissão Interministerial para os Recursos do Mar—Marinha do Brasil). E. C. Oliveira wishes to thank Maria Eliana Ramirez (Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santiago, Chile) for fruitful discussions and Arkadiusz Nedzarek from the Polish Academy of Sciences for help with Polish literature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biociências, Univ. S. Paulo. Rua do Matão, 227. Cidade Universitária, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

    Eurico C. Oliveira & Mariana C. Oliveira

  2. Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av Beira Mar s/n, Pontal do Sul, 83255-000, Brazil

    Theresinha M. Absher

  3. Universidade Estadual do Paraná, campus FAFIPAR. Rua Comendador Correia Júnior, Paranaguá, PR, 83203-970, Brazil

    Franciane M. Pellizzari

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  1. Eurico C. Oliveira
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  2. Theresinha M. Absher
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  3. Franciane M. Pellizzari
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  4. Mariana C. Oliveira
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Correspondence to Eurico C. Oliveira.

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Oliveira, E.C., Absher, T.M., Pellizzari, F.M. et al. The seaweed flora of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctic. Polar Biol 32, 1639–1647 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0663-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0663-9

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