Relationships of the Porphyra (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) flora of the Falkland Islands: a molecular survey using rbcL and nSSU sequence data

The phylogenetic relationships of Porphyra collected from the Falkland Islands have been examined using molecular data from two loci, the plastid rbcL gene and the nuclear nSSU gene, in conjunction with morphological observations. Nine species have been distinguished, belonging to four distinct lineages within the Bangiales, differing from one another by 16-137 substitutions in the rbcL gene. One species is closely related to P. amplissima, a north Atlantic taxon, three are resolved in a clade that includes several species from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, as well as P. umbilicalis, whereas four others are more closely related to Southern Ocean species, including P. cinnamomea, P. virididentata and several as yet unnamed taxa from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Three species, one of which we identify as P. columbina, appear to be widely distributed in the Southern Ocean, with representatives on the Falkland Islands and on islands of the Australian and New Zealand subantarctic.