The Marine Algal Flora of Bantry Bay, Co. Cork

Abstract

A documentation of the marine algal flora of Bantry Bay, incorporating distributional, ecological and systematic data, is presented with a view to establishing distribution patterns, and so that an indication of the species diversity of selected shores might be available in the event of major environmental change in the future. Qualitative investigations, chiefly in the littoral zone, were carried out at eleven sites in the inner part of Bantry Bay during 1969-1972. The resulting list contains a total of 166 species, of which 88 are new records for the Bay and 7 are new records for County Cork. The sites at which each species was found are enumerated, together with grid references, brief descriptions of the topography, and notes on the algal communities.