Annotated catalogue of the benthic marine algae of the Palolo Deep National Marine Reserve of Samoa

Abstract

A total of 124 species of benthic marine algae is reported from the Palolo Deep National Marine Reserve on the island of Upolu (Western) Samoa (13°49′S, 171°45′W). Included in the catalogue are 88 Rhodophyceae, 12 Phaeophyceae and 24 Chlorophyceae. This represents the first survey of benthic marine algae for any site in the Samoan Archipelago in the last 76 years. A total of 90 species newly recorded for the region brings the total reported species to 288 (includes Cyanophyceae not reported here). This is about 68% of the current flora from, for example, nearby Fiji. Of the 11 sites investigated, the eastern algal rim of the main Deep (0–10-m depth) is the most diverse, with 68 species. The subtidal (up to 25 m deep) is also diverse with 57 species recorded. The least diverse of all the sites is the Borrow Pit with only six species.