Supplement to the macroalgal flora of the Natural Reserve «Cape Martyan» (Crimea, the Black Sea)

Abstract

As a result of the monitoring studies based on the materials from 2019, six new species of macroalgae were identified for the marine area of the Nature Reserve «Cape Martyan», located on the Southern Coast of Crimea (SCC): Bolbocoleon piliferum Pringsh., Giraudia sphacelarioides Derbès et Solier, Myrionema balticum (Reinke) Foslie, Lithophyllum cystoseirae (Hauck) Heydr., Bonnemaisonia hamifera Har., Choreonema thuretii (Bornet) F.Schmitz (the latter two species were recorded for the hydrobotanical region «Southern Coast of Crimea» for the first time). As a result, the list of marine macrophytes within the boundaries of the Nature Reserve now includes 160 species and intraspecific taxa at the species rank, which consist about 36% of the total number of macrophytes identified in the Black Sea. Thus, the protected water area near the Cape Martyan continues to function as one of the key refugia for natural phytodiversity in the region. At the same time, B. hamifera is an invasive transforming species that has recently invaded the SCC region. This is a threat to the ecosystem of the Nature Reserve, and in the nearest future the invasion may cover the entire Northern Black Sea region. Thus, on the one hand, the results of the study expand the understanding of the level of natural phytodiversity of the reserve, the hydrobotanical region and the region as a whole, but on the other hand – they indicate the problem of developing biological invasion, which, under the conditions of the isolated Azov-Black Sea basin, can have catastrophic consequences.