Recent (2008–2012) seaweed flora of Hainan Island, South China Sea

Abstract

During the period from 2008 to 2012, algal samplings were conducted off Hainan Island (China) at seven localities. A total of 252 benthic macroalgal taxa were collected where 53% were reds, 31% greens and 16% browns. The largest numbers of species belonged to the families Rhodomelaceae, Ceramiaceae, Corallinaceae (Rhodophyta), Cladophoraceae, Ulvaceae, Caulerpaceae (Chlorophyta), Sargassaceae and Dictyotaceae (Heterokontophyta). The analysis of the floristic diversity and composition during 2008–2012 revealed similarity to that of other large islands in the tropical zone of the Indo-Pacific where coral reefs are the main ecosystem. As was shown by comparative analysis of algal species composition and form diversity between the periods of 1990/1992 and 2008–2012, maximum similarity boundary values between the floras amounted to 66% (Rh), 65% (Ch) and 55% (Phaeophyceae, Ph). These decadal changes resulted in the loss of long-living volumetric forms of macrophytic algae with an increase in the number of fine filamentous algal forms, with tubular and blade-like thalli, as seawater pollution and probably natural catastrophes occurred during the period between the 1990s and 2000s.

Key words:

• Floristic composition
• Hainan
• inventory
• life forms
• macroalgae
• morpho-functional groups

Acknowledgements

Eduard Titlyanov and Tamara Titlyanova are grateful to all members of the Marine Biological Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Sanya City for use of the facilities, technical help and hospitality during the course of this research.

Supplementary material

(Table SI)

The supplementary material for this article is available via the Supplemental tab of the article's online page at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17451000.2014.955803

Editorial responsibility: Mirta Teichberg

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially supported by grants for the ‘Succession of algal communities in the seas of tropical and temperate regions’ (2007–2009) and ‘Physiological and biochemical mechanisms of benthic autotrophic organisms response on climatic and anthropogenic changes in natural habitat (ontogenetic aspects) (2012–2014)’ from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41106141, 41476134 and 40830850), the grant ‘China–Russia special funds 2014’ from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (1439), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2013M540347 and 2014T70406) and the Open Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research (SKLEC-KF201307).