Dominic Franco C. Belleza, Hiroto Tateishi, Shin-Ichiro Tanimae, Taishun Kobayashi, Tomoyuki Aota, Toshiki Urasawa, Gregory N. Nishihara
The benthic macroalgae of the Goto Islands are relatively under-explored due to its remoteness. Previous studies focused mostly on the southernmost island of Fukue while little attention has been given to the other four major islands. Sporadic algal sampling along habitat-forming brown macroalgal ecosystems from six sites in the northernmost of Nakadori Island yielded 39 species belonging to 5 orders, 8 families and 19 genera. The most diverse groups were to the Dictyotaceae and the Sargassaceae, with 16 and 13 species, respectively. Twenty-one species are new records for the Goto Islands, of which 12 are from the order Dictyotales. This study highlights the need for more appraisal of the shallow-water seaweed resources of the Goto Islands. The information from this study contributes to the knowledge of marine flora in a region that is rapidly changing due to warming waters and anthropogenic developments. Copyright © 2025 Magnolia Press.
Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8521, Japan; Department of Biology, University of San Carlos, Nasipit, Talamban, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines; Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8521, Japan; Organization for Marine Science and Technology, Institute for East China Sea Research, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 851-2213, Japan
