Description
A preliminary study of the intertidal benthic macroalgal flora of the island of Rotuma (12°30'S 177°05'E; politically attached to the Fiji Island group) has revealed a total of 88 taxa, including 41 Rhodophyceae, 11 Phaeophyceae and 36 Chlorophyceae, representing the first published records of marine algae for this island. Of these, 30 represent new records for the Fijian flora. The Rotuman flora is distinct from that of Fiji, a probable consequence of habitat limitations and high exposure regimes on Rotuman reefs that have led to a predominance of low-profile, robust algal species. A distinct north-south distribution pattern was found, brought about by variations in exposure regimes. Biogeographic considerations further dissociated the Rotuman and Fijian floras, the former being more equatorial and in the path of oceanic currents dispersing algal species from donor areas in the central and western Pacific.
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 366 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
N'Yeurt A D R (2024). A Preliminary Floristic Survey of the Benthic Marine Algae of Rotuma Island. Version 1.1. Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node. Occurrence dataset. https://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource?r=rotuma_algae&v=1.1
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 695bd377-c18e-4eb7-b6fd-480e89d223db. Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Ocean Biodiversity Information System.
Keywords
Occurrence; Observation
Contacts
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
- User
Geographic Coverage
Rotuma, Fiji
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [-12.525, 177.009], North East [-12.479, 177.139] |
|---|
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 1992-01-01 / 1995-01-31 |
|---|
Sampling Methods
An initial survey of the island was carried out, from January to May 1992. A further survey was conducted from December 1992 to February 1993, with additional specimens collected between September 1993 and January 1994, and between November 1994 and January 1995.
| Study Extent | Rotuma, Fiji |
|---|
Method step description:
- A preliminary visual survey of the coastline was carried out, and 19 representative sites around the island were chosen for inspection. Surveys were carried out either by wading or snorkelling. Considering the sparse distribution of the algae, and the turbulent and exposed conditions on the often very narrow fringing reefs, it was deemed impractical to lay transects. Instead, the area was visually inspected for algal growth, with salient distribution and reef profile features being recorded on an underwater writing board. Owing to the exposed nature of the reefs and the lack of diving facilities and trained partners, it was considered dangerous to sample subtidal habitats. Consequently, all collections were from the intertidal region, imposing obvious limitations on the overall results obtained.
- Photographs of algae in situ and of the general habitats were taken using an Olympus 35 mm camera and a Pentax SLR variable-focus camera. Algal specimens were hand-collected or scraped off the substratum using a knife, put into polyethylene plastic bags or vials, promptly preserved in 5% formaldehyde in seawater, and stored in light-proof plastic containers for eventual shipment back to Fiji.
Collection Data
| Collection Name | South Pacific Regional Herbarium, University of the South Pacific in Suva |
|---|---|
| Collection Identifier | USP |
| Specimen preservation methods | Formalin |
|---|
Bibliographic Citations
- N'Yeurt, A.D.R., 1996. A preliminary floristic survey of the benthic marine algae of Rotuma Island. Australian systematic botany, 9(3), pp.361-490.
Additional Metadata
marine, harvested by iOBIS
| Alternative Identifiers | 695bd377-c18e-4eb7-b6fd-480e89d223db |
|---|---|
| https://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource?r=rotuma_algae |