Unusual bloom of tetrasporophytes of the non-indigenous red alga Asparagopsis armata in the northern Adriatic Sea

Abstract

The tetrasporophyte of the non-indigenous red alga Asparagopsis armata (the Falkenbergia stage) is considered to be established in Slovenian coastal waters. However, until 2016, it was found only in low coverage and in few localities with hard substrata. The paper reports a recent bloom of these tetrasporophytes in the mediolittoral belt of the Bay of Piran, where thalli of this red alga overgrew the articularted coralline alga Corallina officinalis. The sites affected by this large expansion of tetrasporophytes of A. armata should be regularly monitored in the future, in order to point out which environmental factors are responsible for such phenomenon, and to formulate proper conclusions on the status of this non-indigenous alga in the coastal area concerned.