Shading by invasive seaweeds reduces photosynthesis of maerl from the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain)
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Sara P. Cobacho
Sara P. Cobacho obtained her degree in marine sciences from the University of Vigo, Spain. During this period, she conducted 1 year of oceanography studies at the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø. Her interest in coastal issues led her to study a Master in resource management with coastal and marine management as a specialty at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Ísafjörður, Iceland.
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Luis Navarro
Luis Navarro is senior lecturer at the University of Vigo and has a PhD in evolutionary ecology of plants from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. His scientific interest is currently focused on four main questions: conservation biology of plants, evolution of sexual systems, mutualistic plant-animal interactions and ecological and evolutionary consequences of biological invasions. Transdisciplinary interest has prompted him to investigate the most efficient ways to communicate science to society. He does this by means of videos through the platform Divulgare <
www.divulgare.net > that he has created.Nuria Pedrol is an associate professor of plant physiology at the University of Vigo. She develops different basic and applied projects on plant ecophysiology, stress physiology and allelopathy.
José M. Sánchez is a senior lecturer at the Departamento de Biología Vegetal at the University of Vigo. His main scientific interest includes the study of plant ecology at the coastline, especially interspecific interactions and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of biological invasions for plants.
Abstract
The overgrowth and shading of several alien species along the European Atlantic coast are expected to reduce photosynthesis of maerl, decreasing its growth and fitness. In this work, three shade levels (0, 20 and 50%) were set up under laboratory conditions to simulate different competitive scenarios potentially affecting maerl beds. Live individuals of Sargassum muticum and Undaria pinnatifida were placed over maerl cultures, and the effects of shading were assessed by chlorophyll a fluorescence using a pulse-modulated fluorescence monitoring system. Photosystem II efficiency was measured as the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence (Fv/Fm) as a proxy for the stress experienced by maerl. According to our data, irradiance reduction results in a small, yet significant, impact on the PSII efficiency of maerl, which could have fitness consequences.
About the authors
Sara P. Cobacho obtained her degree in marine sciences from the University of Vigo, Spain. During this period, she conducted 1 year of oceanography studies at the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø. Her interest in coastal issues led her to study a Master in resource management with coastal and marine management as a specialty at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Ísafjörður, Iceland.
Luis Navarro is senior lecturer at the University of Vigo and has a PhD in evolutionary ecology of plants from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. His scientific interest is currently focused on four main questions: conservation biology of plants, evolution of sexual systems, mutualistic plant-animal interactions and ecological and evolutionary consequences of biological invasions. Transdisciplinary interest has prompted him to investigate the most efficient ways to communicate science to society. He does this by means of videos through the platform Divulgare <www.divulgare.net> that he has created.
Nuria Pedrol is an associate professor of plant physiology at the University of Vigo. She develops different basic and applied projects on plant ecophysiology, stress physiology and allelopathy.
José M. Sánchez is a senior lecturer at the Departamento de Biología Vegetal at the University of Vigo. His main scientific interest includes the study of plant ecology at the coastline, especially interspecific interactions and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of biological invasions for plants.
Acknowledgements
This research has been developed in the frame of the Agri-Food Research and Transfer Centre of the Water Campus (CITACA) at the University of Vigo (Spain), supported by the Galician Government. The authors thank Carlos Villaverde for statistical assistance. We also thank the Biological Oceanography group at the University of Vigo (ECIMAT), particularly Antonio Fuentes, for their logistic support and C. Teed for her English improvements of the text. We appreciate the valuable review of the manuscript by two anonymous reviewers and by the editor, Prof. Matthew J. Dring, which has helped to substantially improve the final version.
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- Ten years of conservation efforts enhance seagrass cover and carbon storage in Thailand
- Shading by invasive seaweeds reduces photosynthesis of maerl from the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain)
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- In this issue
- Physiology and ecology
- Carbon storage in seagrass ecosystems along the Andaman coast of Thailand
- Ten years of conservation efforts enhance seagrass cover and carbon storage in Thailand
- Shading by invasive seaweeds reduces photosynthesis of maerl from the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain)
- More than meets the eye: regional specialisation and microbial cover of the blade of Porphyra umbilicalis (Bangiophyceae, Rhodophyta)
- Taxonomy/phylogeny and biogeography
- Pyropia lunae sp. nov. and Pyropia islae sp. nov. (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) from the Philippines
- A checklist of the benthic marine algae of the Northern Arabian Sea coast of the Sultanate of Oman
- Genomics
- Agrobacterium-mediated gene delivery and transient expression in the red macroalga Chondrus crispus
- Characterization of a respiratory burst oxidase homolog from Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta) during stress and phytohormone treatments
