Harvesting Ascophyllum nodosum (Phaeophyceae) reduces the abundance of its host-specific epiphyte Vertebrata lanosa (Rhodophyta)
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David J. Garbary
Following BSc and MSc degrees at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, David Garbary completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool under the supervision of George Russell where he focused primarily on red algal taxonomy. After a further 6 years with the algal flora of British Columbia, he changed oceans in 1984 to an appointment at St. Francis Xavier University where he has worked primarily on a diversity of pure and applied aspects of the marine algal flora. For over 30 years he has studied the interactions of
Ascophyllum with its many symbionts. He is the current Editor-in-Chief ofPhycologia .
Abstract
Ascophyllum nodosum is commercially harvested in the southwestern parts of Nova Scotia. Here the hypothesis is evaluated that harvesting results in a reduction in the abundance of Vertebrata lanosa, an obligate epiphyte of A. nodosum. Sampling at 10 harvested and 16 non-harvested sites showed that percent cover and frequency were significantly lower at harvested sites (i.e. 5.4±4.0 and 0.6±0.7% cover, and 61±24 and 21±18% frequency for non-harvested and harvested sites, respectively). Vertebrata lanosa is suggested as a useful indicator of ecological integrity at harvesting sites.
About the author
Following BSc and MSc degrees at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, David Garbary completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool under the supervision of George Russell where he focused primarily on red algal taxonomy. After a further 6 years with the algal flora of British Columbia, he changed oceans in 1984 to an appointment at St. Francis Xavier University where he has worked primarily on a diversity of pure and applied aspects of the marine algal flora. For over 30 years he has studied the interactions of Ascophyllum with its many symbionts. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of Phycologia.
Acknowledgments
Field assistance was provided by Jose Islas and Jennifer Poirier. Nicholas Hill and the “Big Meadow Bog” project provided accommodation on Brier Island. This work was supported by research grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- In this issue
- Physiology and ecology
- Seasonal variations of Fucus vesiculosus fertility under ocean acidification and warming in the western Baltic Sea
- Recruitment in Ulva blooms in relation to temperature, salinity and nutrients in a subtropical bay of the Gulf of California
- In situ biomass production of Gracilariaceae and Ulva rigida: the Venice Lagoon as a study case
- Cystoseira scale-based biometric relationships
- Harvesting Ascophyllum nodosum (Phaeophyceae) reduces the abundance of its host-specific epiphyte Vertebrata lanosa (Rhodophyta)
- Taxonomy/phylogeny and biogeography
- Two new epizoic Achnanthes species (Bacillariophyta) living on marine turtles from Costa Rica
- Genetic diversity and biogeography in Chaetomorpha melagonium (Ulvophyceae, Cladophorales) based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) sequences
- Genomics
- Cloning and application of the complete nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) cistron sequence of Pyropia haitanensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta)
- Chemistry and applications
- Seasonal variation and yield of sulfated polysaccharides in seaweeds from the Venice Lagoon
- Degradation of dimethyl phthalate esters by a filamentous fungus Aspergillus versicolor isolated from deep-sea sediments
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- In this issue
- Physiology and ecology
- Seasonal variations of Fucus vesiculosus fertility under ocean acidification and warming in the western Baltic Sea
- Recruitment in Ulva blooms in relation to temperature, salinity and nutrients in a subtropical bay of the Gulf of California
- In situ biomass production of Gracilariaceae and Ulva rigida: the Venice Lagoon as a study case
- Cystoseira scale-based biometric relationships
- Harvesting Ascophyllum nodosum (Phaeophyceae) reduces the abundance of its host-specific epiphyte Vertebrata lanosa (Rhodophyta)
- Taxonomy/phylogeny and biogeography
- Two new epizoic Achnanthes species (Bacillariophyta) living on marine turtles from Costa Rica
- Genetic diversity and biogeography in Chaetomorpha melagonium (Ulvophyceae, Cladophorales) based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) sequences
- Genomics
- Cloning and application of the complete nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) cistron sequence of Pyropia haitanensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta)
- Chemistry and applications
- Seasonal variation and yield of sulfated polysaccharides in seaweeds from the Venice Lagoon
- Degradation of dimethyl phthalate esters by a filamentous fungus Aspergillus versicolor isolated from deep-sea sediments
