The marine flora of Rodrigues (Republic of Mauritius, Indian Ocean): An island with low habitat diversity or one in the process of colonization?

Abstract

The primary objective of the present paper is to quantify the biogeographic affinity of the marine flora of Rodrigues within the Indian Ocean by means of the Simpson Similarity Coefficient. A second topic explores the observation that certain widespread macroalgae are absent from the island, using an extensive set of macroalgal distribution data for the Indian Ocean. Once these common Indian Ocean algae have been identified and selected for their absence in the coastal waters of Rodrigues, the two causal hypotheses, (1) low habitat diversity and (2) an incomplete process of colonization, are investigated by interpreting the ecological descriptions of a large number of Indian Ocean specimens ..