Lobophora (Dictyotales) Species Richness, Ecology and Biogeography Across the North‐Eastern Atlantic Archipelagos and Description of Two New Species¹

Abstract

The brown alga Lobophora (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) is an important macroalga in the North‐eastern Atlantic archipelagos (i.e., Macaronesia). Notably in the Canaries it can dominate benthic assemblages. While the genus has been the subject of several ecological studies in the Canaries, no study has yet been conducted to assess species‐level diversity of Lobophora in Macaronesia. We reassessed the diversity of Lobophora in Macaronesia, reporting the presence of seven species (L. caboverdeana sp. nov., L. canariensis, L. dagamae sp. nov., L. delicata, L. dispersa, L. littlerorum, and L. schneideri). Lobophora spp. from Macaronesia are morphologically and ecologically distinguishable. In the Canaries, L. schneideri dominates the photophilic assemblages from the intertidal to 20‐30 m depth. Lobophora dagamae sp. nov. grows in less illuminated shallow habitats, and replaces L. schneideri from 30 to ~80 m. Lobophora canariensis also has a wide vertical distribution, from the intertidal to deep waters, while L. delicata, L. dispersa and L. littlerorum grow in shallow waters. The dominance of species with an upright habit versus prostrate or crustose species may be mediated by the pressure of herbivores. Four species have an amphi‐Atlantic distribution: L. littlerorum, L. canariensis, L. delicata, and L. schneideri. Lobophora schneideri and L. delicata are furthermore distributed in the Mediterranean Sea. By sampling a pivotal region in the Atlantic, this study significantly improves our knowledge of Lobophora biogeography in the Atlantic Ocean. Macaronesia constitutes a species–poor region for Lobophora where no diversification events occurred, and a region of overlap between the Greater Caribbean and the Indo‐Pacific.

Diversity, Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of the Prevalent Brown Algal Genus Lobophora in the Greater Caribbean Sea, Including the Description of Five New Species1

“…An additional species recently described from Cape Verde, L. caboverdeana (Vieira et al. 2019b), is reported from the Greater Caribbean for the first time. In addition, two lineages are newly reported for the Caribbean, L .…”

New records of the genus Lobophora (Dictyotales: Phaeophyceae) for the marine flora of Cuba and their distribution in the Greater Caribbean Sea

“…Photographs of the studied material were taken using a smart phone Samsung Galaxy S8 (SM-G950F). For the morphological identification specialized literature was used (Camacho et al, 2019;Godínez-Ortega et al, 2018;Schultz et al, 2015;Vieira et al, 2016;Vieira, Henriques et al, 2020;Vieira, Morrow et al, 2020). Once identified they were deposited in 95% EtOH in labeled bottles.…”

“…However, according to Vieira et al (2016), the genus Lobophora does not only display different morphological forms, but also can inhabit several ecological niches. Recent studies have demonstrated that the genus Lobophora is more diverse than historically stated (Camacho et al, 2019;Schultz et al, 2015;Sun et al, 2012;Vieira et al, 2016;Vieira, Henriques et al, 2020;Vieira, Morrow et al, 2020). These authors argued that different morphotypes and ecotypes can differentiate one species from another.…”

Global biogeography and diversification of a group of brown seaweeds (Phaeophyceae) driven by clade‐specific evolutionary processes

“…Recent molecular phylogenies of the genera Dictyota , Padina and Lobophora (Silberfeld et al., 2014; Tronholm, Steen et al., 2010; Vieira et al., 2017) revealed rampant cryptic diversity as well as high species diversity. At a local scale, various species of Dictyotales are able to co‐exist in sympatry by occupying micro‐niches (Vieira, Henriques, et al., 2020; Vieira, Morrow, et al., 2020; Tronholm, Sansón, et al, 2010), which correlates with the evolution of efficient physical and chemical defence strategies against herbivores (Cronin et al., 1997; Vieira et al., 2019). At larger spatial scales, the broad distributions of several species demonstrate the capacity for and importance of long‐distance dispersal in their evolutionary history (Silberfeld et al., 2014; Tronholm, Steen et al., 2010; Vieira et al., 2017).…”