Note
One hundred and fifty two species of marine macrophytes (148 algae and 4 vascular
plants) were recorded from ponds (embayments, bays, coves, and lagoons) within the Pelican
Cays, a recently recognized atoll-like system of the Rhomboid Cays in the Central Province of
the Belize Barrier Reef. Of the algae, 64 were Rhodophyta, 59 Chlorophyta, 16 Phaeophyta, and
9 Cyanophyta; 4 Magnoliophyta also were present. This unusually high marine plant biodiversity
(for such a small geographic area) can be traced to the unique commingling of four major
biomes-mangrove, coral, seagrass, and algal-under stable oligotrophic conditions (as indicated,
for example, by the area's consistently "gin-clear" waters).