Studies of rhodolith banks on the north coast of the state of Bahia

The high richness of the marine flora on the Brazilian continental shelf is often attributed to the great availability of consolidated substrate. There are extensive banks of rhodoliths on this shelf, providing shelter and breeding grounds for various species. The imbalance of algae populations causes damage to the environment and also to economic activities. In the state of Bahia, little is known about the flora of the infralittoral, its distribution, ecology and other factors. The lack of information, coupled with its growing economic expansion, especially in the coastal region, makes it necessary to carry out a greater number of studies on the organisms that live there. In this book we present taxonomic and ecological aspects of a rhodolith bank on the north coast of Bahia. Factors such as rhodolith density, size, volume and associated flora were analysed at various depths, using samples obtained by scuba diving. The bank presented three taxa of calcareous algae forming rhodoliths: Lithophyllum stictaeforme, Lithothamnion brasiliense and Mesophyllum sp. 40 species of algae were found associated with the rhodolith bank.