A taxonomic survey of marine and estuarine benthic green algae has been
conducted at Lord Howe Island, the site of the world’s southernmost (at
31.5˚S) consolidated coral reef. Thirty-two genera and 71 species are
described from habitats ranging from upper intertidal to 20–30-m depths.
Sixteen of the species are based on Lord Howe types, and 11 are described as
new. Twelve species are currently known only from the Island. Particularly
well represented in the flora are the genera
Enteromorpha (six species, one variety),
Chaetomorpha (four species),
Cladophora (13 species),Codium
(five species), Caulerpa (seven species, two varieties)
and Bryopsis (three species). The island is further
distinctive in having two representatives of some relatively obscure genera
(Cladophoropsis, Rhipiliopsis,
Pseudochlorodesmis) and in being the highest-latitude
collecting locality for several species. Affinities of the Lord Howe flora are
primarily tropical Indo-Pacific, with very few elements otherwise restricted
to southern Australia and New Zealand.
Abundance, diversity, and feeding behavior of coral reef butterflyfishes at Lord Howe Island