Rhodolith Bed Discovered off the South African Coast

Abstract

Rhodolith beds have not previously been recorded in South Africa. A multidisciplinary research effort used remote sampling tools to survey the historically unexplored continental shelf off the Eastern Cape coast of South Africa. A rhodolith bed, bearing both living and dead non-geniculate coralline red algae, was discovered in the 30–65 m depth range off the Kei River mouth in the newly proclaimed Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area. Some of the rhodolith forming coralline algal specimens were identified as belonging to at least three genera based on their morphology and anatomy, namely, Lithophyllum, Lithothamnion and a non-descript genus. Rhodolith mean mass and diameter were 44.85 g ± 34.22 g and 41.28 mm ± 10.67 mm (N = 13), respectively. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) imagery revealed a suite of epibenthic red macroalgae associated with the rhodolith bed. Taxonomy, vertical structure and distribution of rhodoliths in South Africa require further investigation.