In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 9, No. 1 ( 2019-11-05)
Abstract:
The Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde are commonly united under the term “Macaronesia”. This study investigates the coherency and validity of Macaronesia as a biogeographic unit using six marine groups with very different dispersal abilities: coastal fishes, echinoderms, gastropod molluscs, brachyuran decapod crustaceans, polychaete annelids, and macroalgae. We found no support for the current concept of Macaronesia as a coherent marine biogeographic unit. All marine groups studied suggest the exclusion of Cabo Verde from the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos and thus, Cabo Verde should be given the status of a biogeographic subprovince within the West African Transition province. We propose to redefine the Lusitanian biogeographical province, in which we include four ecoregions: the South European Atlantic Shelf, the Saharan Upwelling, the Azores, and a new ecoregion herein named Webbnesia, which comprises the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvagens and the Canary Islands.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
DOI:
10.1038/s41598-019-51786-6
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2019
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
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