Vol. 49 No. 5, 2010

Photosymbiotic Ascidians from Kenting and Lyudao in Taiwan

Euichi Hirose^1,* and Yoko Nozawa²

¹Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
²Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nangkang, Taipei 115, Taiwan

Euichi Hirose and Yoko Nozawa (2010) The photosymbiotic ascidian fauna was surveyed in Keelung, Kenting, and Lyudao (Green I.), Taiwan.  Nine species in total were recorded from Kenting and Lyudao, but no photosymbiotic species were found in Keelung, probably due to the cold surface water in winter (ca. 16°C) in that region.  Eight of the 9 species harbored Prochloron as their symbiotic cyanophytes, and Trididemnum clinides harbored some other cyanophyte species.  All of these species have also been recorded from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, whereas some species common to the Ryukyus were not abundant in Taiwan.  Differences in reef structures between Taiwan and the Ryukyus may have caused some differences and the diversity of the microhabitats therein, resulting in the observed differences in species distributions. 

Key words: Algal symbiosis, Ascidian, Biogeography, Coral reefs, Didemnidae.

*Correspondence: Tel: 81-98-895-8880.  Fax: 81-98-895-8576.   E-mail:euichi@sci.u-ryukyu.ac.jp