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Ecotypic differentiation in the kelpLaminaria saccharina: Phase-specific adaptation in a complex life cycle

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Abstract

Comparison of cultured sporophytes and gametophytes in common-garden experiments confirmed the existence of ecotypic differences in light-related traits among populations ofLaminaria saccharina (L.) Lamour. Cultured sporophytes from the turbid habitat in Long Island Sound, New York, USA, grew faster under both limiting and saturating daily irradiances than sporophytes from shallow and deep habitats along the Atlantic coast of Maine. Rapid growth of turbid plants was attributable to several factors, including high photosynthetic capacity and efficiency [due to differences in photosynthetic unit (PSU) number and size], low respiration rates, and high surface area:weight ratios. In contrast to sporophytes, microscopic gametophytes from the three kelp populations grew at similar rates under limiting and saturating daily irradiances. Biomass-specific photosynthesis vs irradiance (PI) parameters were similar for gametophytes from the shallow, deep, and turbid sites, despite population differences in chlorophyll-specific PI parameters and PSU characteristics. However, turbid gametophytes produced microscopic sporophytes more rapidly than gametophytes from the shallow and deep sites, apparently due to a lower blue-light requirement for gametogenesis. Ecotypic differences in sporophytes and gametophytes ofL. saccharina from shallow, deep, and turbid habitats can be understood as phase-specific adaptations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, 11794-5000, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    V. A. Gerard

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  1. V. A. Gerard
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Communicated by J. Grassle, Woods Hole

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Gerard, V.A. Ecotypic differentiation in the kelpLaminaria saccharina: Phase-specific adaptation in a complex life cycle. Mar. Biol. 107, 519–528 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01313437

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