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GROWTH AND PRODUCTION OF LAMINARIA LONGICRURIS (PHAEOPHYTA) POPULATIONS EXPOSED TO DIFFERENT INTENSITIES OF WATER MOVEMENT 1
Author(s) -
Gerard Valrie A.,
Mann Kenneth H.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.1529-8817.1979.tb02958.x
Subject(s) - biology , nutrient , laminaria , bay , population , algae , limiting , nova scotia , productivity , intertidal zone , zoology , botany , oceanography , ecology , mechanical engineering , demography , macroeconomics , sociology , economics , engineering , geology
Blade elongation was compared in two populations of Laminaria longicruris de la Pylaie in Shag Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada; one population was exposed to and the other sheltered from high intensity water movement. The maximum and minimum elongation rates were similar for the two populations, but the sheltered coast plants grew more rapidly during 8 mo of the year. Measurements of internal inorganic nitrogen (NO 3 − + NO 2 − ) reserves and dry organic weight indicated that low concentrations of dissolved nutrients in summer and low levels of illumination in fall and winter were more limiting to growth at the exposed site than the sheltered site. Transplant experiments provided evidence that morphological differences between the exposed and sheltered coast plants accounted at least partially for their different responses to varying nutrient conditions and light levels. It is concluded that lower productivity of the exposed coast population is the result of adaptation to high intensity water movement.