Despite historical references to the contrary, recent study of Panamanian seaweed diversity has revealed a marine flora rich in species, including species new to science and species that may represent sources of important natural compounds. This project will elucidate patterns of seaweed diversity through intensive SCUBA-based field surveys in the Caribbean Sea and eastern tropical Pacific, live culture of field-collected specimens, and comparisons of seaweed DNA. The work will result in the establishment of a baseline of seaweed diversity upon which environmental change can be assessed, and upon which evolutionary hypotheses can be tested. Specifically, a strategy is outlined to explain why algal species composition on Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Central America is so similar, in comparison to the general pattern of zoological diversity in which distinct (though closely related) species inhabit opposite coasts.
A major initiative of this project is to establish a collaborative of seaweed scientists in southern Central America that will promote long-term study of seaweed evolution and biogeography. Over 40 students and scientists (from universities in Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Colombia, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and collaborating American Institutions) will receive training in seaweed identification, molecular systematics and seaweed culturing as part of this research, or through taxonomic workshops. The research will advance an understanding of the distribution and diversity of tropical seaweeds, as well as the biotic history of the Central American Isthmus, and culminate in a series of bi-lingual identification guides to the marine flora of Panama. The Office of International Science and Engineering is co-funding this award to help support US student participation in this international research activity.
Marine macroalgae or "seaweeds" are economically important for food and the commercial products extracted from them. Seaweeds are also ecologically important as habitat and food for fish. Their ecological importance in tropical marine systems has recently been enhanced as many coral reef systems have shifted to being seaweed dominated. Knowledge of seaweeds in the tropical waters around Southern Central America has been limited and this was especially the case along the rarely studied Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Panama. The goals of this project were to determine the seaweed diversity of Southern Central America with an emphasis on Panama and provide training for Latin American students and researchers that would promote long-term study of the regions seaweeds. This was a collaborative project among the University of North Carolina Wilmington, University of Louisiana Lafayette and Roger Williams University. Our surveys along the Panamanian coasts, combined with DNA sequencing and detailed morphological analyses, have greatly increased the known diversity of seaweeds for this country. For example, a recent review of eastern Pacific seaweed diversity revealed <10 species reported from the western Gulf of Chiriqui, Pacific Panama. We found over 43 species (>300% increase) during only five hours of cumulative collecting time around Punta Burica, a small area of this region, and this number will increase as our morphological and DNA sequence analyses of the collected samples continues. We also have discovered greater diversity through detailed studies of poorly known seaweed groups. An example of this is our work on red seaweeds in the genera Neosiphonia and Polysiphonia. These relatively small seaweeds are important primary producers on reefs and some fish even cultivate monospecific patches keeping other fish out (and attacking nosey researchers who collect them). Prior to our studies only two species were reported for all of Caribbean Panama, but integrated DNA sequence and morphological analyses – a technique called "molecular assisted identification" – revealed that 14 species are present, including two new species that were described for the first time. Panama was considered to have a depauperate seaweed flora prior to our project. Although we are continuing to assess the flora through floristic studies of specific coastal regions and detailed analyses of specific seaweed groups, we can estimate that it includes 500+ species. This signifies a very rich seaweed flora and the greatest seaweed diversity in Southern Central America. While our project has had a major impact in revealing much greater seaweed diversity in Southern Central America than previously known, it also has had a great impact in science training for both US and Latin American students and researchers. Three UNCW graduate students, all members of under represented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), completed their studies of marine biology or marine science with support from this project, and all are still working in STEM fields. Four UNCW undergraduate students participated in this project with three receiving NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplement support. Two of these were also from under represented groups in STEM. In addition, a Brazilian graduate FAPESP scholarship student came to UNCW to receive training as part of this project. This project also supported or was used to leverage support for four phycological training workshops. These workshops provided training for 48 graduate and three undergraduate students with 31 coming from Latin American countries. Many of these Latin American participants also hold teaching positions at their home institutions multiplying the dividends from these workshops, and many have continued to communicate on research projects. Other products of this project include a series of web available resources for research and teaching as well as informational posters geared towards the general public. Major specimen contributions were made to the teaching and research herbarium collections at four universities and many DNA sequences submitted to GenBank and BOLD, public databases for sequence information. We also have developed a database for Panamanian seaweeds and a template based on this database that is being used for other biodiversity studies.
