Restructuring of the ‘Macaronesia’ biogeographic unit: A marine multi-taxon biogeographical approach
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 5 November 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Scientific Reports
- Vol. 9 (1), 1-18
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51786-6
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.Keywords
Funding Information
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” (FCT).
- “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” (FCT).
- European Union ERA Chairs.
This publication has 73 references indexed in Scilit:
- The continental slope current system between Cape Verde and the Canary IslandsScientia Marina, 2012
- An integrative taxonomic revision of the Cape Verdean skinks (Squamata, Scincidae)Zoologica Scripta, 2010
- Timing and Tempo of Early and Successive Adaptive Radiations in MacaronesiaPLOS ONE, 2008
- Does Macaronesia exist? Conflicting signal in the bryophyte and pteridophyte florasAmerican Journal of Botany, 2007
- Recent invasion of the tropical Atlantic by an Indo‐Pacific coral reef fishMolecular Ecology, 2005
- Marine research, resources and conservation in the AzoresAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 1995
- Silhouettes: A graphical aid to the interpretation and validation of cluster analysisJournal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 1987
- Hierarchical Grouping to Optimize an Objective FunctionJournal of the American Statistical Association, 1963
- HIERARCHICAL GROUPING TO OPTIMIZE AN OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONJournal of the American Statistical Association, 1962
- Zoogeographical Studies on the Soleoid Fishes Found in Japan and its Neighhouring Regions-IINIPPON SUISAN GAKKAISHI, 1957