Western Pacific

Abstract

The Western Pacific is one of the regions where rhodolith beds are abundant. However, the studies of the rhodolith beds and rhodoliths themselves have been conducted mainly from geological perspectives. Here we review rhodolith beds and 20 rhodolith-forming species which are distributed in both shallow and deep waters (lower intertidal zones to 135 m deep) from cold to tropical regions of the Western Pacific. The coralline species composition of each rhodolith bed has not been well studied, and the taxonomic status of each species has to be defined by modern taxonomic concepts using molecular approaches. Research on rhodoliths in the Western Pacific therefore remains a poorly studied in aspects of phycology and of coastal biology. The present chapter represents an account of the current knowledge.