Macroalgal diversity of Santa Cesarea-Castro (Salento Peninsula, southeastern Italy)

The benthic macroalgal flora from the eastern Ionian coastal area of the Peninsula Salentina is scarcely studied. This study gives a contribution to the knowledge on its biodiversity in this area, which also includes marine caves, and the geographical distribution of some interesting species. A total of 174 macroalgae (119 Rhodophyta, 27 Ochrophyta, and 28 Chlorophyta) were identified. Six species are first records for the region, one of which, Liagora ceranoides, represents a new record for the Italian flora. The vegetation of most of the wave-exposed rocky substrata, as well as of the two sulphureous caves at Santa Cesarea Terme is characterised by extensive populations of Corallinales. The chorological spectrum of the flora shows a high occurrence of Indo-Pacific and Circumtropical elements, thus resulting more similar to that of floras of the Greek Ionian Sea.