Abstract
Light-related traits were compared for Laminaria saccharina Lamour. collected from three habitats in Maine and New York, USA, with different ambient light regimes. Light-level, expressed as a proportion of surface irradiance (I0), ranged from 0.04 to 0.32 I0 in the shallow habitat, but rarely exceeded 0.04 I0 in the deep and turbid habitats. Juvenile sporophytes collected from each habitat in April, 1985, were grown at four acclimation light-levels (0.065, 0.12, 0.26, and 0.54 I0) in a common-garden, laboratory experiment. Photosynthesis vs irradiance (PI) parameters, light-harvesting characteristics, and rates of carbon-assimilation and growth were determined for each group of plants. The results indicated that ecotypic differentiation had occurred among the three kelp populations. Photosynthetic capacity (Pmax) and photosynthetic efficiency (α) were generally highest for plants from the turbid habitat, lowest for deep plants, and intermediate for shallow plants. These differences were largely attributable to variations in light-harvesting characteristics. The nature and magnitude of photoacclimation responses also differed among populations. Population differences in photosynthetic parameters resulted in different rates of C-assimilation and growth by plants from shallow, deep, and turbid habitats. Predictions of in situ growth rates indicated that the severity of light-limitation and, therefore, the adaptive significance of efficient light-utilization vary among the three populations. It is concluded that ecotypic differentiation in light-related traits is important to the broad environmetal range of L. saccharina.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Anderson, E. K. and W. J. North: In situ studies of spore production and dispersal in the giant kelp, Macrocystis. Proc. int. Seaweed Symp. 5, 73–86 (1966)
Arnold, K. E. and S. L. Manley: Carbon allocation in Macrocystis pyrifera (Phaeophyta): intrinsic variability in photosynthesis and respiration. J. Phycol. 21, 154–167 (1985)
Boardman, N. K.: Comparative photosynthesis of sun and shade plants. A. Rev. Plant Physiol. 28, 355–377 (1977)
Boden, G. T.: The effect of depth on summer growth of Laminaria saccharina (Phaeophyta, Laminariales). Phycologia 18, 405–408 (1979)
Bolton, J. J., I. Germann and K. Lüning: Hybridization between Atlantic and Pacific representatives of the Simplices section of Laminaria (Phaeophyta). Phycologia 22, 133–140 (1983)
Bowman, M. J., W. E. Esaias and M. B. Schnitzer: Tidal stirring and the distribution of phytoplankton in Long Island and Block Island Sounds. J. mar. Res. 39, 587–603 (1981)
Chapman, A. R. O.: The genetic basis of morphological differentiation in some Laminaria populations. Mar. Biol. 24, 85–91 (1974)
Chapman, A. R. O.: Age versus stage: an analysis of age- and size-specific mortality and reproduction in a population of Laminaria longicruris Pyl. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 97, 113–122 (1986)
Chapman, A. R. O., J. W. Markham and K. Lüning: Effects of nitrate concentration on growth and physiology of Laminaria saccharina (Phaeophyta) in culture. J. Phycol. 14, 195–198 (1978)
Daly, M. A., A. C. Mathieson and T. L. Norall: Temperature, salinity, turbidity, and light attenuation in the Great Bay Estuary system, 1974–1978, 46 pp. Jackson Estuar. Lab. Contr., No. 85, 1979
Dayton, P. K., V. Currie, T. Gerrodette, B. D. Keller, R. Rosenthal and D. ven Tresca: Patch dynamics and stability of some California kelp communities. Ecol. Monogr. 54, 253–289 (1984)
Dring, M. J. and K. Lüning: Emerson enhancement effect and quantum yield of photosynthesis for marine macroalgae in simulated underwater light fields. Mar. Biol. 87, 109–117 (1985)
Duncan, M. J. and P. J. Harrison: Comparison of solvents for extracting chlorophylls from marine macrophytes. Bot. mar. 25, 445–447 (1982)
Espinoza, J. and A. R. O. Chapman: Ecotypic differentiation of Laminaria longicruris in relation to seawater nitrate concentration. Mar. Biol. 74, 213–218 (1983)
Falkowski, P. G., Z. Dubinsky and K. Wyman: Growth-irradiance relationships in phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30, 311–321 (1985)
Fortes, M. D. and K. Lüning: Growth rates of North Sea macroalgae in relation to temperature, irradiance and photoperiod. Helgoländer Meeresunters. 34, 15–29 (1980)
Gallagher, J. C., A. M. Wood and R. S. Alberte: Ecotypic differentiation in the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum: influence of light intensity on the photosynthetic apparatus. Mar. Biol. 82, 121–134 (1984)
Geider, R. J., B. A. Osborne and J. A. Raven: Growth, photosynthesis and maintenance metabolic cost in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum at very low light levels. J. Phycol. 22, 39–48 (1986)
Gerard, V. A., K. DuBois and R. Greene: Growth responses of two Laminaria saccharina populations to environmental variation. Hydrobiologia 151/152, 229–232 (1987)
Grime, J. P.: Evidence for the existence of three primary strategies in plants and its relevance to ecological and evolutionary theory. Am Nat. 111, 1169–1194 (1977)
Harris, E.: The nitrogen cycle in Long Island Sound. Bull. Bingham Oceanogr. Coll. 17, 31–63 (1959)
Hatcher, B. G.: An apparatus for measuring photosynthesis and respiration of intact large marine algae and comparison of results with those from experiments with tissue segments. Mar. Biol. 43, 381–385 (1977)
Hicklenton, P. R. and W. C. Oechel: Physiological aspects of the ecology of Dicranum fuscescens in the subarctic. I. Acclimation and acclimation potential of CO2 exchange in relation to habitat, light, and temperature. Can. J. Bot. 54, 1104–1119 (1976)
Hopkin, R. and J. M. Kain: The effects of some pollutants on the survival, growth and respiration of Laminaria hyperborea. Estuar. cstl. mar. Sci. 7, 531–553 (1978)
Jain, S. K. and A. D. Bradshaw: Evolutionary divergence among adjacent plant populations. I. The evidence and its theoretical analysis. Heredity 21, 407–441 (1966)
Johnston, C. S., R. G. Jones and R. D. Hunt: A seasonal carbon budget for a laminarian population in a Scottish sea-loch. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. 30, 527–545 (1977)
Larkum, A. W. D. and J. Barrett: Light-harvesting processes in algae. Adv. bot. Res. 10, 1–219 (1983)
Lee, J. and B. H. Brinkhuis: Reproductive phenology of Laminaria saccharina (L.) Lamour. (Phaeophyta) at the southern limit of its distribution in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. J. Phycol. 22, 276–285 (1986)
Lüning, K.: Growth strategies of three Laminaria species (Phaeophyceae) inhabiting different depth zones in the sublittoral region of Helgoland (North Sea). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 1, 195–207 (1979)
Lüning, K.: Control of algal life-history by daylength and temperature. In: The shore environment, pp 915–945. Ed. by J. H. Price, D. E. G. Irvine and W. F. Farnham. London: Academic Press 1980
Lüning, K. and M. J. Dring: Continuous underwater light measurement near Helgoland (North Sea) and its significance for characteristic light limits in the sublittoral region. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. 32, 403–424 (1979)
Lüning, K. and M. J. Dring: Action spectra and spectral quantum yield of photosynthesis in marine macroalgae with thin and thick thalli. Mar. Biol. 87, 119–129 (1985)
Norall, T. L., A. C. Mathieson and C. E. Penniman: Nutrient and hydrographic data for the Great Bay estuarine system, New Hampshire-Maine. Part I: September, 1973–December, 1975, 102 pp. University of New Hampshire Marine Program, UNH-D/TR-83-1, 1983
Osmond, C. B., O. Bjorkman and D. J. Anderson: Physiological processes in plant ecology, 468 pp. Berlin: Springer-Verlag 1980
Peckol, P. and J. Ramus: Physiological differentiation of North Carolina nearshore and offshore populations of Sargassum filipendula C. Ag. Bot. mar. 28, 319–325 (1985)
Priscu, J. C.: In situ quantum yield of phytoplankton in a subalpine lake. J. Plankt. Res. 6, 531–542 (1984)
Radmer, R. J. and B. Kok: Light conversion efficiency in photosynthesis. In: Photosynthesis. I. Photosynthetic electron transport and photophosphorylation, pp 125–135. Ed. by A. Trebst and M. Avron. Berlin: Springer-Verlag 1977
Ramus, J. and G. Rosenberg: Diurnal photosynthetic performance of seaweeds measured under natural conditions. Mar. Biol. 56, 21–28 (1980)
Riley, G. A.: Oceanography of Long Island Sound. II. Physical oceanography. Bull. Bingham Oceanogr. Coll. 15, 15–46 (1956)
Riley, G. A.: Oceanography of Long Island Sound, 1954–1955. Bull. Bingham Oceanogr. Coll. 17, 9–29 (1959)
Riley, G. A.: Review of the oceanography of Long Island Sound. Deep-Sea Res. 3 (Suppl.), 224–238 (1961)
Turesson, G.: The species and the variety as ecological units. Hereditas 3, 100–113 (1922)
Wheeler, P. A.: Uptake of methylamine (an ammonium analogue) by Macrocystis pyrifera (Phaeophyta). J. Phycol. 15, 12–17 (1979)
Wilkinson, M.: Investigations on the autecology of Eugomontia sacculata Kornm., a shell-boring alga. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 16, 19–27 (1979)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. P. Grassle, Woods Hole
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gerard, V.A. Ecotypic differentiation in light-related traits of the kelp Laminaria saccharina . Mar. Biol. 97, 25–36 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391242
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391242