Marine Biodiversity Records

Table of Contents - Volume 5 - 2012  

Research Article

New marine algal records from the Polynesia–Micronesia region of the Pacific Ocean

Roy T. Tsudaa1, Peter S. Vrooma2 c1 and Kimberly N. Page-Albinsa3

a1 Department of Natural Sciences, Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA

a2 Ocean Associates, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, 1125B Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96814, USA

a3 Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, 3029 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

Abstract

The first known collections of marine algae from Santa Rosa Reef, a submerged seamount located 46 km south-south-west of Guam in the Mariana Islands, occurred at 10.0 to 13.7 m depths in 2003 and 2005. Dasycladus vermicularis, a green alga known predominantly from the Caribbean but also reported from the Philippines in 1976 and the Ryukyus in 1995, and Cutleria irregularis, a brown alga first described from the Hawaiian Islands in 2003, represent the first record of D. vermicularis in the Polynesia–Micronesia region, and the first record of C. irregularis in Micronesia. In total, 8 of the 32 algal species collected at Santa Rosa Reef represent new records for the Mariana Islands.

(Received December 13 2011)

(Accepted December 22 2011)

Keywords

Correspondence:

c1 Correspondence should be addressed to: P.S. Vroom, Ocean Associates, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, 1125B Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96814, USA email: Peter.Vroom@noaa.gov