Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 15
Warm Temperate Seaweed Communities:
A Case Study of Deep Water Kelp Forests
from the Alboran Sea (SW Mediterranean Sea)
and the Strait of Gibraltar
Antonio Flores-Moya
15.1
Introduction: Kelp Forests and Kelp Beds in the Alboran
Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar
Kelp forests dominate the shallower sublittoral of temperate oceans worldwide
(Mann
1973
; Dayton
1985
,
1994
; Steneck et al.
2002
) although they are also present
in the Arctic Ocean (Dunton et al.
1982
; Steneck et al.
2002
; see also Chap.
13
by
Wiencke and Amsler) and in deep waters near Ecuador (Graham et al.
2007
). There
are singular kelp forest communities inhabiting deep waters (20-100 m depth) in
some localities at the Strait of Gibraltar and in the Mediterranean Sea, e.g., the
Alboran Sea (the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea; Flores-Moya
2004
; Templado et al.
2006
) and the Strait of Messina (SW Italy; Huv
´
1958
;
Fredj and Giermann
1969
; Giaccone
1969
,
1972
; Drew
1972
,
1974
).
Curiously, the first record of the presence of kelps in the areas close to the Strait
of Gibraltar may be due to the “Father of Botany,” Theophrastus of Eresus
(371-286
BC
): “Again in the ocean, about the Pillars of Hercules, there is a
[seaweed] kind of marvelous size, they say, which is larger, about a palmsbreadth.
This is carried into the inner sea along with the current from the outer sea, and they
call it “sea-leek”; and in this [outer] sea in some parts it grows higher than a man's
waist” (translation of Hort
1926
). The “Pillars of Hercules” are peaks at either side
of the Strait of Gibraltar, while the Atlantic Ocean and the Alboran Sea can be
recognized as the “outer sea” and “inner sea,” respectively. Drift thalli of
Saccorhiza polyschides
are very frequent in the autumn and winter on the beaches
of the area; thus, this species is possibly the best candidate for Theophrastus
A. Flores-Moya (
*
)
Department of Plant Biology (Botany), University of M´laga, Campus de Teatinos s/n,
29071 M´laga, Spain
e-mail:
floresa@uma.es
