Species composition and structure of a photophilic algal community dominated by Halopteris scoparia (L.) Sauvageau from the North-Western Mediterranean

Abstract

A photophilic agal community dominated by Halopteris scoparia and other brown algae is described from sheltered environments from the North-Western Mediterranean rocky bottoms. This community is included in the Padino-Cladostephetum hirsutae previously described by FELDMANN(1937) for the same geographical area. This plant association is characterized by the lack of an upper erect stratum of Fucales and by the low degree of presence of thermophilic species which typify other similar communities described from other Mediterranean areas. Algal biomass ranges from 1100 to 2500 g dw m^-2 and coverage percentage ranges from 250 to 450 %. The great miniaturization and the extraordinary diversity and species richness of Mediterranean photophilic algal communities is assessed. Although there is not a clear seasonal change in biomass of the dominant species in the community, two structural stages can be discerned along an annual cycle: a developed community (summer) and a diversified community (winter). Finally, the community structure and the environmental factors that impinge upon it are compared with those found in other Mediterranean phytobenthic communities.