ABSTRACT Paiva Beach is located 15 km south of the metropolitan area of Recife in the state of Pernambuco and has been a site of real estate development projects. The objective of this study was to generate a floristic survey of the Paiva Beach reef, focusing on three microhabitats. The random manual collection of algae was performed on February 11, 2012 during low tide. The first collection station was located in the infralittoral region near the heavily trampled beach. The second collection station was also located in the infralittoral region in an area several meters from the first station but exhibiting a low level of trampling. The third collection station was located in an area of the intertidal reef flat. A total of 28 algae species were identified. Of the 28 species, fourteen (50%), eight, and six species belonged to the phyla Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta, and Heterokontophyta, respectively. Station 2 (low trampling) had the highest species richness with 18 identified species. In the cluster analysis, Station 1 (higher trampling) presented the lowest similarity (about 50%) with the other two stations, which were grouped together (similarity about 60%). This is an evidence for the more intense affect of trampling on Station 1 than at station 2 and 3. Algae, such as Dictyota ciliolata and Ulva fasciata, which were found at all sampling stations, are characteristic of impacted areas with high rates of predation. Cladophora sp. was found at the stations with trampling, whereas algae such as Bryothamnion triquetum and the calcareous Halimeda opuntia were common in the infralittoral region.
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