Abstract
Seasonal variation in a Fucus serratus assemblage was studied on the Isle of Man, UK over a 13-month period. Algal cover varied greatly, related to shedding reproductive fronds and winter storms. Peak reproduction was recorded in the autumn. There was little change in density of plants, the population was dominated by a bank of germlings (<20 cm) and an adult mode between 50–70 cm. An indistinct third component of recruiting juveniles was present when gaps in the canopy formed. Seasonal variation in the algae was reflected in the population dynamics of the mobile epiphytes such as Littorina mariae and Lacuna pallidula, which exhibited annual life histories. Sessile species (such as bryozoans) utilized the algae year round, dominating the perennial stipes and lower fronds, which were not shed. Other species utilized the algae in a transient fashion: some feeding on the algae (e.g. Idotea), or other epiphytic animals (e.g. Nucella). Fucus serratus, therefore, provides a variety of spatially and temporally variable niches that explain the diversity of epiphytic animal species that exploit this alga.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Boaden, P. J. S., R. J. O’Connor & R. Seed, 1975. The composition and zonation of a Fucus serratus community in Strangford Lough, Co. Down. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 17: 111–136.
Boaden, P. J. S., R. J. O’Connor & R. Seed, 1976. The fauna of a Fucus serratus L. community: ecological isolation in sponges and tunicates. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 21: 249–267.
Coughlan, S., 1977. Isolation and characterisation of afucosyl transferase associated with dictyostomes from the brown alga Fucus serratus L. FEB Lett. 81: 33–36.
Crothers, J. H., 1985. Dog-whelks: an introduction to the biology of Nucella lapillus (L.). Field Studies 6: 291–360.
Grahame, J., 1985. The population biology of two species of Lacuna (chink-shells) at Robin Hood’s Bay. In P. G. Moore & R. Seed (eds.), The ecology of rocky coasts. Hodder and Staughton: 136–142.
Hawkins, S. J., R. G. Hartnoll, J. M. Kain & T. A. Norton, 1992. Plant-animal interactions on hard substrata in the north-east Atlantic. In D. M. John, S. J. Hawkins & J. H. Price (eds.), Plantanimal interactions in the marine benthos. Systematics Associa- tion Special Volume No. 46. Clarendon Press, Oxford: 1–32.
Holdich, D. M., 1968. Reproduction, growth and biomass of Dynamene bidentata (Crustacea: Isopoda). Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 156:137–163.
Kain, J. M. & P. Svendsen, 1979. A note on the behaviour of Patina pellucida in Britain and Norway. Sarsia 38: 25–30.
Knight, M. & M. Parke, 1950. A biological study of Fucus vesiculosa L. and Fucus serratus L. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 29: 439–514.
Norton, T. A. & M. R. Benson, 1983. Ecological interactions between the brown seaweed Sargassum muticum and its associated fauna. Mar. Biol. 75: 169–177.
O’Connor, R. J., P. J. S. Boaden & R. Seed, 1975. Niche breadth in Bryozoa as a test of competition theory. Nature 256: 307–309.
O’Connor, R. J., R. Seed & P. J. S. Boaden, 1980. Resource space partitioning by the bryozoa of a Fucus serratus L. community. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 45: 117–137.
Oswald, R. C, N. Telford, R. Seed, & C. M. Happey-Wood, 1984. The effect of encrusting bryozoans on the photosynthetic activity of Fucus serratus L. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 19: 697–702.
Oswald, R. C. & R. Seed, 1986. Organisation and seasonal progression within the epifaunal communities of coastal macroalgae. Cah. Biol. mar. 27: 29–40.
Ramsden, L. & C. C. Rider, 1992. Selective and differential binding of interlukin (IL)-lα, IL-1/β, IL-2 and IL-6 to glycosaminoglycans. Eur. J. Immunol. 22: 3027–3031.
Ryland, J. S. & A. R. D. Stebbing, 1971. Settlement and orientated growth in epiphytic and epizoic bryozoans. In D. J. Crisp (ed.), 4th European Marine Biology Symposium: 105–123.
Seed, R., 1985. Ecological pattern in the epifaunal communities of coastal macroalgae. In P. G. Moore & R. Seed (eds.), The ecology of rocky coasts. Hodder and Staughton: 22–35.
Seed, R. & P. J. S. Boaden, 1977. Epifaunal ecology of intertidal algae. In B. F. Keegan, P. O’Ceidgh & P. J. S. Boaden (eds.), Biology of benthic organisms. Pergamon Press, Oxford: 541–548.
Seed, R. & R. J. O’Connor, 1981. Community organization in marine algal epifaunas. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 12: 49–74.
Seed, R., M. N. Elliott, P. J. S. Boaden & R. J. O’Connor, 1981. The composition and seasonal change amongst the epifauna associated with Fucus serratus L. in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. Cah. Biol. mar. 22: 243–266.
Smith, D. A. S., 1973. The population biology of Lacuna pallidula (da Costa) and Lacuna vineta (Montagu) in North-East England. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 53: 493–520.
Stebbing, A. R. D., 1973. Competition for space between the epiphytes of Fucus serratus L. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 53: 247–261.
Williams, G. A., 1990. Littorina mariae – a factor structuring low shore communities? Hydrobiologia 193: 139–146.
Williams, G. A., 1992a. The effects of grazing by Littorina mariae on diatom assemblages on natural and artificial surfaces. In J. Grahame, P. J. Mill & D. G. Reid (eds), Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Littorinid Biology. The Malacological Society of London: 211–219.
Williams, G. A., 1992b. The effect of predation on the life histories of Littorina obtusata and Littorina mariae. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 72: 403–416.
Williams, G. A., 1995. Maintenance of zonation patterns in two species of flat periwinkle, Littorina obtusata and L. mariae. Hydrobiologia 309: 143–150.
Williams, G. A. & R. Seed, 1992. Interactions between macrofaunal epiphytes and their host algae. In D. M. John, S. J. Hawkins & J. H. Price (eds), Plant-animal interactions in the marine benthos. Systematics Association Special Volume No. 46. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 189–211.
Wood, V. & R. Seed, 1980. The effects of shore level on the epifaunal communities associated with Fucus serratus (L.) in the Menai Straits, North Wales. Cah. Biol. mar. 21: 135–154.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this paper
Cite this paper
Williams, G.A. (1996). Seasonal variation in a low shore Fucus serratus (Fucales, Phaeophyta) population and its epiphytic fauna. In: Lindstrom, S.C., Chapman, D.J. (eds) Fifteenth International Seaweed Symposium. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 116. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1659-3_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1659-3_26
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7242-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1659-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive