Hector Ruiz

Mesophotic coral ecosystems under anthropogenic stress: a case study at Ponce, Puerto Rico

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) were compared between La Parguera and Ponce, off the south coast of Puerto Rico. In contrast to La Parguera, Ponce has a narrow insular shelf and hosts several river outlets, a commercial port, a regional sewage treatment plant with associated deep water outfall, and three deep dredge disposal sites. Off Ponce, MCEs receive higher (16×) rates of sedimentation than off La Parguera, a less impacted site. The most impacted sites were located offshore of Cayo Ratones and are in or down-current and in close proximity to one of the dredge disposal sites. There, MCEs are characterized by a steep, irregular, rocky slope with a cover of fine-grained, dark brown sediment, which increases with depth. At shallower depths, scattered rocky outcroppings are colonized by sponges, black corals and algae. The sediment cover contains two to three times the terrigenous content and a significantly higher percentage of the fine-grained fraction than off La Parguera. Thirteen remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives east and west of Ponce showed that the deepest depth at which corals were observed increased with distance from Cayo Ratones and did not approach depths observed off La Parguera except at the eastern-most (up-current) site, Caja de Muertos, which was also significantly further offshore. Benthic communities off Caja de Muertos were comparable to those at La Parguera, while off Cayo Ratones, there were no mesophotic corals and sparse development of other benthic macrobiota except sponges. Management authorities should include MCEs when assessing potential impacts from anthropogenic activities and take the necessary steps to reduce local threats.

Two Peyssonnelia species (Peyssonneliaceae, Rhodophyta) from Puerto Rico including Peyssonnelia flavescens sp. nov.

D.L. Ballantine and H. Ruiz. 2005. Two Peyssonnelia species (Peyssonneliaceae, Rhodophyta) from Puerto Rico including Peyssonnelia flavescens sp. nov. Phycologia 44: 328–334. Two highly colourful encrusting red algal species from deep and shallow coral reef habitats in Puerto Rico are reported. Peyssonnelia boergesenii Weber Bosse is characterized by its multicoloured appearance, polyflabellate arrangement of hypothallial cells and multicellular holdfasts. Peyssonnelia flavescens sp. nov. is variably bi- to tri-coloured, with the principal background colour bright yellow to tan. It forms large crusts, to 30 cm in diameter, which are variably thick, measuring 310–640 μm in thickness. The new species differs from other known Peyssonnelia species by cutting off elongate, 12–17 μm long, spermatangial initials that cut off seriate chains of spermatangia distally and by its production of very large tetrasporangia, to 170 μm long.

Two new deepwater Peyssonnelia species, Peyssonnelia iridescens and Peyssonnelia gigaspora (Peyssonneliaceae, Rhodophyta) from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea

Ballantine D.L. and Ruiz H. 2010. Two new deepwater Peyssonnelia species, Peyssonnelia iridescens and Peyssonnelia gigaspora (Peyssonneliaceae, Rhodophyta) from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea. Phycologia 49: 537–544. DOI: 10.2216/09-88.1 Two new distinctive Peyssonnelia species are described from deepwater habitats in southwestern Puerto Rico. Peyssonnelia iridescens possesses a distinctive bluish iridescent fringe and forms loosely adherent blades up to 6.0 cm across. The crusts possess a Peyssonnelia atropurpurea-type vegetative organization. Tetrasporangia are cut off distally from apical perithallial cells and measure up to 53 µm wide × 135 µm long. Carposporangia measure 25–30 µm in their largest dimension and are formed in elongate nemathecia. Peyssonnelia gigaspora is variously coloured, tan to reddish, with obvious radial striations and reddish spots when living. The crusts are closely appressed to the substratum and normally measure up to 130 µm in thickness, but are occasionally 200 µm thick and possess the Peyssonnelia rubra-type vegetative organization. Tetrasporangia are ovate and extremely large, measuring up to 100 µm wide × 250 µm long, and differentiate from the proximal paraphysal cell, thus being situated in an intercalary position.

A New Encrusting Deep-Water Coral Reef Alga, Peyssonnelia Incomposita (Peyssonneliaceae, Rhodophyta), from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea

Abstract A new Peyssonnelia species is described from deep-water habitats in Puerto Rico as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. Peyssonnelia incomposita is distinctive when living due its background orange coloration with highly contrasting bright yellow highlights. Internally the thallus is distinguished by abundant cell fusions that occur both laterally and longitudinally among cell rows of the perithallus as well as between cells of adjacent perithallial filaments at different tier levels. Tetrasporangia are cut off distally and possess an enlarged pedicel. They measure to 30 µm wide and 75 µm long. The crusts are closely appressed to the substratum and while variable, normally measure approximately 75 µm in thickness.

Peyssonnelia imbricata sp. nov. (Peyssonneliaceae, Rhodophyta) from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea

Abstract Peyssonnelia imbricata sp. nov. occurs in shallow protected coral reef, mangrove and deep-reef habitats in southwestern Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea. The species is characterized by its small imbricate blades which may form extensive colonies, vegetative production of new blades from the dorsal surface of parent blades, polyflabellate arrangement of hypothallial cells and its Peyssonnelia atropurpurea-type anatomy.

Metapeyssonnelia milleporoides, a new species of coral-killing red alga (Peyssonneliaceae) from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea

Abstract Metapeyssonnelia milleporoides is newly described based on specimens growing epizoically on corals, primarily Millepora complanata and Porites sp., in shallow-water coral reef environments off Puerto Rico. The new species possesses light hypobasal calcification, sunken tetrasporangial nemathecia and has hypothallial cells arranged in broad flabellules. Both cystoliths and hair cells are present in the perithallus. The species grows sympatrically with M. corallipeda and also kills its host by overgrowth. Peyssonnelia dawsonii is recognized as a member of Metapeyssonnelia and is transferred to this genus.

Predaea goffiana sp. nov., (Nemastomataceae, Rhodophyta) from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea

Abstract A diminutive new species of Predaea (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) is described from coral reef habitats in Puerto Rico,Caribbean Sea. It is composed of compressed lobes which radiate to form an irregularly rounded shape. The new species is characterized by its cylindrical cortical cells, 3-celled carpogonial branches, small number of nutritive cells associated with auxiliary cells and initiation of gonimoblasts from connecting filaments.

Notes on the benthic marine algae of Puerto Rico, XI: new records including new Meredithia (Kallymeniaceae, Rhodophyta) species

Abstract Continued collection of algae around the island of Puerto Rico principally focused on deep and shallow coral reef habitats led to the additional recognition of nine species previously unknown for the flora, including five Rhodophyta: Liagora tsengii, Crouania elisiae, Crouania pumila, Augophyllum wysori, Chrysymenia ventricosa; one Heterokontophyta (Phaeophyceae): Zonaria tournefortii; and three Chlorophyta: Bolbocoleon piliferum, Rhipocephalus oblongus, and Udotea caribaea. Kallymenia limminghei as previously reported from Puerto Rico is now recognized to be a distinct entity, Meredithia puchella, and Meredithia? caribaea is also described as a new species.

A unique red algal reef formation in Puerto Rico

The genus Ramicrusta has only been known in the western Atlantic since 2009 (as Ramicrusta textilis Peuschul & Saunders 2009). The species was since reported by Ballantine et al. (2011) from a shallow water site located adjacent to Isla Caja de Muertos, offshore from Ponce, Puerto Rico (Fig. 1). Ramicrusta is the principal calcareous benthic element in this patch reef environment. We speculate that the algal reef functions similarly to shallow scleractinian-dominated coral patch reefs, supporting similar fish and macro-invertebrate communities (Electronic Supplemental Material). Individual Ramicrusta mounds reach 3 m in diameter and to 1.0 m in height. Ramicrusta may have become established at the site after overgrowing scleractinean and soft corals (Fig. 2). Individual stands of Ramicrusta textilis are probably not long-lived as they become hollowed out within (Fig. 3) and in this state are subject to being torn away from their substratum by wave and current energy. Nevertheless, the reef persists, presumably due to the rapid growth of the red alga. We have conservatively estimated an aerial cover of approximately 18,000 m for the formation. Other than the well-known role of coralline red algae which make up ‘‘algal ridges’’ (Adey 1978), red algae making up reef structural habitats is previously unknown in the Caribbean region.

Dynamics of shelf edge coral reef-associated macroalgae at La Parguera, Puerto Rico

Abstract. Percentage cover of coral reef associated algae increased significantly from 2003 to 2007 at two shelf edge sites in southwest Puerto Rico (42.8 % to 75.3% at Weinberg Reef and 67.4% to 81.8% at El Hoyo). While the increase was driven largely by increase in cover of Lobophora variegata, percent cover of the individual spatially dominant algal species was highly variable temporally. The variability was apparent even at the subquadrat level (0.0625m2) for which adjacent subquadrats demonstrated little concordance in species cover over subsequent sampling periods.