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Modulation of different kelp life stages by herbivory: compensatory growth versus population decimation

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Abstract

Partitioning the effects of herbivory on different life stages of primary producers is key to understanding the population-wide consequences of herbivory. We assessed the performance of microscopic (MiS <1 mm) juveniles, macroscopic (MaS) juveniles and adult kelp (Laminaria ochroleuca) under contrasting herbivory regimes through a herbivore exclusion field experiment. The abundance of MiS and the survival of MaS decreased by 67 and 63%, respectively, when herbivorous fishes and sea urchins were present. Blade growth (linear and area) of adult kelp displayed contrasting patterns under herbivore pressure: a 60% increase and a 46% decrease, respectively. These results indicate that while herbivory severely reduces juvenile survival, it may also induce compensatory growth (measured as linear growth) in adult kelp. In summary, we here demonstrate how herbivory affects all sporophyte life stages of the kelp L. ochroleuca. This is likely to have important implications for situations where historical patterns of herbivore presence and herbivory are changing, such as is increasingly the case in many temperate regions due to warming around the world.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support was provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the ‘Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade’ (POFC-COMPETE) within the ‘Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN)’ and the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the project ‘Efeitos do clima oceânico na macroecologia e resiliência a perturbações dos povoamentos de kelps’—OCEANKELP (PTDC/MAR/109954/2009); and the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 Granted to MARE. João N. Franco was supported by a FCT PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/84933/2012). Thomas Wernberg was supported by Grants from the Australian Research Council (FT110100174, DP170100023). We are very grateful to Nuno Vasco Rodrigues, ESTM-IPLEIRA volunteers and Haliotis and AquaSubOeste Diving centres for their valuable help during experimental set-up and maintenance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIIMAR, Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos s/n, 4450-208, Matosinhos, Portugal

    João N. Franco, Iacopo Bertocci, Tânia Pereira, Francisco Arenas & Isabel Sousa-Pinto

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4150-181, Porto, Portugal

    João N. Franco & Isabel Sousa-Pinto

  3. School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute (M470), University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Thomas Wernberg

  4. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy

    Iacopo Bertocci

  5. MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Laboratório de Ciências do Mar, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 190, 7520-903, Sines, Portugal

    David Jacinto

  6. MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, 2520-641, Peniche, Portugal

    Paulo Maranhão

  7. Rey Juan Carlos University, Calle Tulipán sn., 28933, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain

    Brezo Martinez

  8. IU-ECOAQUA, Grupo en Biodivesidad y Conservación, Marine Sciences Faculty, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain

    Fernando Tuya

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  1. João N. Franco
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  2. Thomas Wernberg
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  3. Iacopo Bertocci
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  4. David Jacinto
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  5. Paulo Maranhão
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  6. Tânia Pereira
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  7. Brezo Martinez
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  8. Francisco Arenas
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  9. Isabel Sousa-Pinto
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  10. Fernando Tuya
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Correspondence to João N. Franco.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was funded by Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the projects: OCEANKELP (PTDC/MAR/109954/2009), UID/MAR/04292/2013 and a PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/84933/2012) and the Australian Research Council (FT110100174, DP170100023).

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Franco, J.N., Wernberg, T., Bertocci, I. et al. Modulation of different kelp life stages by herbivory: compensatory growth versus population decimation. Mar Biol 164, 164 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3196-8

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