THE IMPACT OF FROND CROWDING ON FROND BLEACHING IN THE CLONAL INTERTIDAL ALGA <i>MAZZAELLA CORNUCOPIAE</i> (RHODOPHYTA, GIGARTINACEAE) FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Scrosati, Ricardo A.; DeWreede, Robert E.

doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.1998.340228.x

Cited by 66 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This seems unlikely, however, since the rate of sea level fall (5.6 cm in 30 years) is much less than the downward shift in the algal turf's upper limit (roughly 16.8 cm in the 30 years since 1978). Alternatively, postdisturbance recovery may be hampered by the life history characteristics of M. parksii; dispersal is very limited (tens of centimeters), and isolated individuals, such as new recruits, are exceptionally vulnerable to desiccation, loss of photosynthetic capacity, and bleaching (18). Experimental clearings in M. parksii beds suggest that recovery from disturbance is usually achieved by vegetative regrowth (C.D.G.H., unpublished data), a process that occurs at rates of 3-8 mm per year (19).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contingencies and compounded rare perturbations dictate sudden distributional shifts during periods of gradual climate change

Harley

Paine

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ecological responses to climate change may occur gradually with changing conditions, or they may occur rapidly once some threshold or ''tipping point'' has been reached. Here, we use a highresolution, 30-year data set on the upper vertical limit of a high intertidal alga to demonstrate that distributional shifts in this species do not keep pace with gradual trends in air temperature or sea level, but rather occur in sudden, discrete steps. These steps occur when unusually warm air temperatures are associated with unusually calm seas and are contingent in the sense that neither atmospheric nor sea conditions by themselves were sufficient to generate the underlying physiological challenge. Shifts in the upper limit did not correlate with large environmental perturbations such as El Niñ os; rather, they appeared to be associated with stochastic departures from otherwise gradual environmental trends. Our results exemplify the view that multiple environmental factors should be considered when attempting to understand ecological responses to climate change. Furthermore, punctuated responses such as those we have identified urge caution when attempting to infer causal mechanisms and project future distributional shifts using data of limited temporal resolution or scope.Mazzaella parksii ͉ intertidal zonation ͉ range shift ͉ sea level ͉ temperature

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contingencies and compounded rare perturbations dictate sudden distributional shifts during periods of gradual climate change

Harley

Paine

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In contrast, by mid-summer it is common to find natural populations of M. splendens with some partially yellow/green genets in the upper half of this species' low intertidal distribution. Other higher intertidal species of M. also demonstrate seasonal bleaching at least at the tips of fronds (Scrosati & DeWreede 1998). Several factors can lead to algal bleaching and could be responsible for this condition of M. linearis genets in the sheltered transplant site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size, survival and the potential for reproduction in transplants of Mazzaella splendens and M. linearis (Rhodophyta)

Shaughnessy¹,

DeWreede²

2001

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biomechanical models of red algae have been developed that make predictions about blade survivorship based on tissue strengths, drag coefficients, and blade surface areas. The first 2 objectives of the present field study were therefore to examine actual survivorship of genets (i.e. holdfast + blades) from wide-and narrow-bladed species of Mazzaella G. DeToni f., as well as to compare blade survivorship to predictions of their survival from a previous biomechanics study of the 2 species. The third and fourth objectives were, respectively, to determine the most frequent break location in the genet, and finally to ascertain if surviving blades are likely to be reproductive. Low intertidal transplant sites were established at a wave-sheltered site where the wide-bladed form of Mazzaella splendens (Setchell et Gardner) Fredericq occurs, and in a high wave impact habitat of the narrow-bladed Mazzaella linearis (Setchell et Gardner) Fredericq. Short and long blades size classes (SC1, SC2, respectively) were included for each species because separate population sampling established that SC1 blades are almost never reproductive, whereas SC2 blades are potentially reproductive. Within the high wave impact transplant site, genet survival of experimental (i.e. transplanted to site of the other species) M. splendens was initially lower than for control (i.e. transplanted within native site) M. linearis presumably due to drag on the larger M. splendens blades. As predicted by the biomechanics model, long blades of control M. linearis survive better than those of experimental M. splendens, but not as well as short blades of experimental M. splendens. However, the narrow blade of M. linearis allows it to reach a reproductively mature length, whereas the short, broken survivors of experimental M. splendens are not long enough to be reproductive. In the sheltered transplant site, genet survival for control M. splendens and experimental M. linearis was similar, but replicate M. linearis populations located higher in the intertidal were stressed (i.e. bleached) and more likely to die. Survivorship for SC2 blades of experimental M. linearis was not greater than SC2 blades of control M. splendens as predicted by the biomechanics model; survivorship of these 2 treatments was similar. For both species, the junction between the stipe and holdfast was rarely the most frequent break location as predicted by previous studies of Mazzaella and other red algae. We conclude that M. linearis is more likely to survive and become reproductive at high wave impact sites because its narrow blade can persist in the face of large hydrodynamic forces. In contrast, in a sheltered site the widebladed form of M. splendens is still at a hydrodynamic disadvantage relative to M. linearis, but M. splendens is able to survive long enough to produce wide, potentially reproductive blades because it is apparently more tolerant of abiotic conditions (e.g. high irradiance, desiccation) within these sites.

show abstract

“…Hodgson 1981, Kain & Norton 1990, Scrosati & DeWreede 1998, Hunt & Denny 2008. Algal bleaching results in a degradation and loss of photosynthetic pigments, often leading to death (Hodgson 1981, Davison & Pearson 1996; but see Biebl 1952, Clark et al 2004, Irving et al 2004.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Experimental thinning of intertidal turfs (e.g. Hay 1981, Padilla 1984, Scrosati & DeWreede 1998 are similarly confounded; observations of tips of algal turfs bleaching while moist, dark, cool cores remain healthy are open to interpretation (Hunt & Denny 2008). Sudden shifts in the vertical distribution of intertidal algae after exposure to high air temperatures (Harley & Paine 2009) may be just as easily caused by increased desiccation stress, since thallus temperature and desiccation are tightly linked (Bell 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bleaching of an intertidal coralline alga: untangling the effects of light, temperature, and desiccation

Martone¹,

Alyono²,

Stites³

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intertidal macroalgae must tolerate temperature, light, and desiccation stresses when the tide recedes, and differences in physiological tolerance to these environmental stresses contribute directly to zonation patterns and community structure along the shore. When low tides occur on particularly hot sunny days, seaweeds may sustain physiological damage, lose pigment, and 'bleach.' Because bleaching events often occur when temperature, light, and desiccation stresses coincide, their precise cause is not understood. We conducted fully factorial laboratory manipulations to explore the individual and interactive effects of temperature, light, and desiccation on acute pigment loss in the intertidal coralline Calliarthron tuberculosum (Postels & Ruprecht) E. Y. Dawson. Findings suggest that desiccation is the most significant contributor to bleaching; desiccating fronds even bleached in the dark at 15°C. Susceptibility to desiccation may explain why mid-intertidal C. tuberculosum fronds are rarely found outside tidepools. Light and temperature had only marginal effects on pigment loss, although stresses interacted with increasing significance through time. When combined, temperature, light, and desiccation stresses were capable of inducing, on average, 50% pigment loss in C. tuberculosum within 24 min of emersion. These physiological data could be used in conjunction with environmental datasets to generate 'ecomechanical' models to predict future bleaching events and their ecological consequences under hypothetical climate change scenarios.

show abstract

THE IMPACT OF FROND CROWDING ON FROND BLEACHING IN THE CLONAL INTERTIDAL ALGA MAZZAELLA CORNUCOPIAE (RHODOPHYTA, GIGARTINACEAE) FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Cited by 66 publications

References 31 publications

Contingencies and compounded rare perturbations dictate sudden distributional shifts during periods of gradual climate change

Contingencies and compounded rare perturbations dictate sudden distributional shifts during periods of gradual climate change

Size, survival and the potential for reproduction in transplants of Mazzaella splendens and M. linearis (Rhodophyta)

Bleaching of an intertidal coralline alga: untangling the effects of light, temperature, and desiccation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About