Guide to the dominant macroalgae of the stromatolite fringing reef complex, Highborne Cay, Bahamas

This is the first description of macroalgae documented from a stromatolite reef complex. Because of the sediment stress conditions that promote the development of stromatolites in this open marine environment, macroalgae are generally limited in species diversity and are sparse except for the crustose coralline alga Neogoniolithon strictum, which forms the elevated reef crest behind which the sediments and stromatolites accumulate. At the 10 sites sampled, a total of 22 species were encountered, 10 Rhodophyta, 9 Chlorophyta, 2 Phaeophyta and 1 Cyanobacteria.