Eastern Pacific

Abstract

In the Eastern Pacific (EP) the only region where rhodolith beds have been well studied in terms of taxonomy, ecology, distribution and conservation status is the Gulf of California. Outside this region the knowledge of rhodolith-forming species is attributed to the initial separate floristic surveys of Dawson and Lemoine, performed more than 50 years ago. After a detailed review of the published literature and information produced during our expeditions throughout the EP, a total of 36 rhodolith-forming species have been recorded from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Guarello Island in Chile. Despite the research efforts developed at present, more species remain to be discovered in the EP, particularly in the Tropical Pacific of Mexico and the Pacific coast of Baja California where we found undescribed species of Sporolithon and Lithothamnion. Therefore, we contend that further studies are needed in order to better catalogue the wide rhodolith-forming species diversity that is extremely relevant for the marine realm of the EP.