The diatom flora and cyanobacteria from caves on Kauai, Hawaii

This book provides two thoroughly illustrated floras of cave algae of Kauai, the oldest of the large inhabited islands in the Hawaiian Archipelago. These caves are a hot spot of algal diversity. The first flora describes and illustrates 80 diatom taxa in 45 genera including four species new to science. The second paper assesses cyanobacterial taxonomy based on morphology, ecology, and phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene. Among 20 cyanobacterial taxa characterized here, using this polyphasic approach, four genera new to science are described (Kovacikia, Stenomitos, Goleter, and Pelatocladus) and another twelve new species in these and previously established genera. These new discoveries highlight how poorly studied the microbial biodiversity of Hawaiian algae still is to date and provide further evidence of the hitherto hidden biodiversity expected to be present in tropical habitats in general, in cave habitats, and in particular in the geographically isolated Hawaiian Island Chain. The floras and the data contained therein provide an important contribution for those interested in diatom and cyanobacterial taxa, and demonstrate modern taxonomic practice in these two critical algal groups.