Diversidade de macroalgas marinhas bentônicas da Praia do Arrombado, Luís Correia, Piauí, Brasil

Abstract

The oceans are home to a great biodiversity of organisms with great ecological and economic potential, such as macroalgae, which have attracted the attention and interest of scientists from different areas. Despite its great importance, there is a large gap in the knowledge of the phycoflora of some regions of the Brazilian coast that are still poorly inventoried, as is the case of the coast of Piauí. In this sense, this study aims to expand knowledge of the diversity of macroalgae and phycoflora of the coast of Piauí, through the identification of samples collected at Praia do Arrombado, which is located in the municipality of Luís Correia, Piauí, northeastern region of Brazil (2°54 '27"S 41°31'56"W), this being a pioneering study on this beach. Data identification was based on morphological characters and data systematization according to Wynne (2022), Guiry & Guiry (2023) and Cavalcanti & Fujii (2021), who carried out a specific study for the region. In addition to taxonomic identification, the list of macroalgae on the coast of Piauí was updated, based on a publication on the diversity of macroalgae in the region published by Cavalcanti & Fujii (2021). In this study, 39 taxa were identified, including 25 Rhodophyta, 6 Phaeophyceae and 4 Chlorophyta, in addition to 4 new records for the coast of Piauí. Based on previous studies on phycoflora, this study suggests that the coast of Piauí has a high diversity of macroalgae species that have not yet been recorded, therefore it is necessary to intensify studies on the coast of Piauí and disseminate these results both to the academic community and for society as a whole, as knowledge about biodiversity provides opportunities for preservation and sustainable use.