Light, sediment, temperature, and the early life-history of the habitat-forming alga Cystoseira barbata |
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Authors: | Andrew D Irving David Balata Francesco Colosio Guillaume A Ferrando Laura Airoldi |
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Institution: | 1. Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali & Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, Via S. Alberto 163, 48100, Ravenna, Italy 2. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), P.O. Box 120, Henley Beach, 5022, Australia 3. School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland 4. école Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse, Avenue de l’Agrobiopole, 32607, Auzeville-Tolosane, France
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Abstract: | Recruitment is essential for the maintenance of populations, but far more is typically known about the more easily-observed
adult stages than their smaller, often microscopic early life-history counterparts. This discrepancy can be particularly problematic
for populations of foundation species that create biogenic habitat for a multitude of other taxa, but are themselves prime
candidates for exploitation, fragmentation, and loss, and therefore become the focus of restoration efforts partly or fully
dependent on recruitment. The purpose of this study was to improve ecological understanding for early life-history stages
of the habitat-forming marine alga Cystoseira barbata (Stackhouse) C. Agardh (Fucales: Sargassaceae), member of a genus that has experienced considerable fragmentation and population
decline on European coasts. Using experimental manipulations of water temperature, light intensity, and sediment accumulation,
we observed that sediment virtually precluded recruitment of C. barbata, and greatly impacted the survival of recently settled germlings (up to ~83% mortality). Stronger intensities of light facilitated
the growth of germlings, including the capacity for ~50% of them to outgrow detrimental sediment and survive. Temperature
(10 vs. 16°C) had no effect on early recruitment, survival, or growth. This information helps to identify likely causes and
locations of recruitment failure, and by extension, the conditions needed (either naturally or through human intervention)
to facilitate recruitment and possible habitat restoration. Ultimately, this knowledge can increase our capacity to predict
population persistence and the likely success of restoration efforts. |
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