Aportaciones al conocimiento de las asociaciones de briófitos con microalgas.

Bryophytes establish a wide variety of associations with other organisms, including microalgae. Although this type of relationship is widely distributed and has been the subject of numerous studies, it is not yet well understood in the Canary Islands. This study focuses on the diversity of microalgae associated with the foliose liverwort Porella canariensis, growing epiphytically on Laurus novocanariensis in laurel forests. The composition of microalgae has been analyzed by applying specific enrichment techniques on fragments of the liverwort collected at different heights on the trunk, as well as from different parts of the gametophyte. As a result, a catalog of 14 genera belonging to the phyla Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, and Cyanobacteria is presented. The analysis of the results revealed that there are no significant differences in the diversity of microalgae depending on the height at which the liverwort grows on the trunk or its position in the gametophyte.