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- Title
Caulerpa bikinensis (Chlorophyta) Preference for the Mesophotic Depths of Pacific Atolls.
- Authors
Tsuda, Roy T.
- Abstract
The marine green alga Caulerpa bikinensis W. R. Taylor was described as a new species in 1950 from dredged specimens (37-57m depth) from Bikini Atoll and Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Its relative rareness in collections from waters less than 30m deep from these atolls indicated that it favored the mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCE) at depths of 30-150m. Published and unpublished records of this species over the past 70 years show its habitat preference on the seaward slopes of atolls and in lagoons. Observations were based on collections from Pacific atolls of the Marshall Islands, Tuamotu Islands, Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia, Cook Islands, and Johnston Atoll, and on the deep lagoonal reefs of Palau. Caulerpa bikinensis has also been recorded in shallow waters 1m deep in dark microcavities on lagoonal pinnacles at Takapoto Atoll (Tuamotu Islands) and in Chuuk Lagoon, and 2m deep at Raroia Atoll (Tuamotu Islands). Caulerpa bikinensis favors the deeper depths of theMCE for its low light intensity rather than its cooler temperature, and definitely shows a strong affinity to the high energy seaward slopes of calcareous Pacific atolls.
- Subjects
MARSHALL Islands; CORAL reefs &; islands; CAULERPA; WATER depth; HABITAT selection; LIGHT intensity; GREEN algae; MARINE algae
- Publication
Pacific Science, 2021, Vol 75, Issue 2, p197
- ISSN
0030-8870
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2984/75.2.3