Restructuring of the ‘Macaronesia’ biogeographic unit: a marine multi-taxon biogeographical approach
Freitas, Rui; Romeiras, Maria; Silva, Luís; Cordeiro, Ricardo; Madeira, Patrícia; González, José Antonio; Wirtz, Peter; Falcón, Jesús M.; Brito, Alberto; Floeter, Sergio R.; Afonso, Pedro; Porteiro, Filipe; Viera-Rodríguez, María Ascensión; Neto, Ana Isabel; Haroun, Ricardo; Farminhão, João N. M.; Rebelo, Ana Cristina; Baptista, Lara; Melo, Carlos S.; Martínez, Alejandro; Núñez, Jorge; Berning, Björn; Johnson, Markes E.; Ávila, Sérgio P. (2019). Restructuring of the ‘Macaronesia’ biogeographic unit: a marine multi-taxon biogeographical approach. NPG Scientific Reports 9(1): 15792. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51786-6
In: Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2045-2322; e-ISSN 2045-2322, more
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| Abstract |
The Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde are commonly united under the term “Macaronesia”. This study investigates the coherency and validity of Macaronesia as a biogeographic unit using six marine groups with very different dispersal abilities: coastal fishes, echinoderms, gastropod molluscs, brachyuran decapod crustaceans, polychaete annelids, and macroalgae. We found no support for the current concept of Macaronesia as a coherent marine biogeographic unit. All marine groups studied suggest the exclusion of Cabo Verde from the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos and thus, Cabo Verde should be given the status of a biogeographic subprovince within the West African Transition province. We propose to redefine the Lusitanian biogeographical province, in which we include four ecoregions: the South European Atlantic Shelf, the Saharan Upwelling, the Azores, and a new ecoregion herein named Webbnesia, which comprises the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvagens and the Canary Islands. |
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