seaweed flora of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctic

• Published in: Polar biology Vol. 32; no. 11; pp. 1639 - 1647
• Main Authors: Oliveira, Eurico C, Absher, Theresinha M, Pellizzari, Franciane M, Oliveira, Mariana C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01-11-2009; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algae; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Ecology; Flora; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Life Sciences; Marine biology; Marine ecology; Microbiology; Oceanography; Original Paper; Particular ecosystems; Plant Sciences; Sea water ecosystems; Synecology; Zoology; Antarctic Ocean; Seaweed biodiversity; Antarctic marine algae; Seaweed distribution; Palmaria decipiens; Algae; Biodiversity; King George Island; Marine environment; Flora; Protomonostroma undulatum; Polar region; Antarctica; Bay
• ISSN: 0722-4060; 1432-2056
• DOI: 10.1007/s00300-009-0663-9

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.