The dynamics and geographic disjunction of the kelp Eisenia arborea along the west coast of Canada

Jane C. Watson; Michael W. Hawkes; Lynn C. Lee; Andy Lamb

doi:10.1515/bot-2021-0040

Article

The dynamics and geographic disjunction of the kelp Eisenia arborea along the west coast of Canada

Jane C. Watson

Jane C. Watson completed a BSc (Hons) at the University of British Columbia and a PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz. She taught ecology at Vancouver Island from 1996 to 2016. She has studied kelp forest community ecology for over 35 years, with most of her research being conducted on the British Columbia Coast. She is Professor Emeritus at Vancouver Island University.
, Michael W. Hawkes

Michael W. Hawkes research interests include: 1. The biogeography and systematics of Pacific Northwest seaweeds and, 2. Red algal reproductive biology. I also have a keen interest in the biology and horticulture of succulent plants. After a three year stint (1978–1981) working in New Zealand for the University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Lab he returned to the Botany Dept. at UBC where he held various research and teaching positions until retiring in 2015 as Senior Instructor Emeritus.
, Lynn C. Lee

Lynn C. Lee is currently the marine ecologist at Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site on Haida Gwaii in Haida traditional territory, northern British Columbia, Canada. She is and has been focused on advancing marine conservation and research initiatives on Haida Gwaii in various capacities since 1993, with particular interest in coastal marine ecology and the interconnected, long-standing relationships between people and place.
and Andy Lamb

Andy Lamb BSc Zoology UBC 1971, employed, Vancouver Aquarium as aquarist /educator, Fisheries & Oceans Canada as fish culturist; naturalist and SCUBA diver for 53 years and counting, 3930 dives and counting; author of Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest and Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest (Harbour Publishing); co-creator of a marine life database via Pacific Marine Life Surveys Inc., retired and living on Thetis Island, B.C.

Published/Copyright: October 11, 2021

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From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 64 Issue 5

Abstract

Eisenia arborea has a disjunct distribution along the west coast of North America. We detail the current distribution of E. arborea and use long-term records to examine how present-day shifts in E. arborea prevalence and abundance in British Columbia (BC), relative to the dominant stipitate kelp Pterygophora californica, may be driven by interactions between changing grazing pressure and warming water. We further speculate on how the disjunction of E. arborea arose. The ancestor of E. arborea likely dispersed from Japan to North America where glaciation disrupted its distribution and speciation occurred. As glaciers retreated E. arborea likely dispersed into BC from warmer waters in the south and/or expanded from refugia off Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. While E. arborea is uncommon, our records extend its range into Alaska and Washington State. Along western Vancouver Island, BC, under warming conditions, E. arborea prevalence and abundance increased where once-extirpated sea otters (Enhydra lutris) removed urchins. Where otters were absent, however, reduced summer wave heights, associated with warming, apparently allowed urchins to graze shallow-water kelps, which declined. We suggest that under warming conditions, sea otters may increase kelp resilience, with E. arborea becoming more prevalent in NE Pacific kelp forests.

Keywords: biogeography; climate change; glacial marine refugia; sea otter; urchin grazing

Corresponding author: Jane C. Watson, Biology Department, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5, Canada, E-mail: Jane.Watson@viu.ca

About the authors

Jane C. Watson

Jane C. Watson completed a BSc (Hons) at the University of British Columbia and a PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz. She taught ecology at Vancouver Island from 1996 to 2016. She has studied kelp forest community ecology for over 35 years, with most of her research being conducted on the British Columbia Coast. She is Professor Emeritus at Vancouver Island University.

Michael W. Hawkes

Michael W. Hawkes research interests include: 1. The biogeography and systematics of Pacific Northwest seaweeds and, 2. Red algal reproductive biology. I also have a keen interest in the biology and horticulture of succulent plants. After a three year stint (1978–1981) working in New Zealand for the University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Lab he returned to the Botany Dept. at UBC where he held various research and teaching positions until retiring in 2015 as Senior Instructor Emeritus.

Lynn C. Lee

Lynn C. Lee is currently the marine ecologist at Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site on Haida Gwaii in Haida traditional territory, northern British Columbia, Canada. She is and has been focused on advancing marine conservation and research initiatives on Haida Gwaii in various capacities since 1993, with particular interest in coastal marine ecology and the interconnected, long-standing relationships between people and place.

Andy Lamb

Andy Lamb BSc Zoology UBC 1971, employed, Vancouver Aquarium as aquarist /educator, Fisheries & Oceans Canada as fish culturist; naturalist and SCUBA diver for 53 years and counting, 3930 dives and counting; author of Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest and Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest (Harbour Publishing); co-creator of a marine life database via Pacific Marine Life Surveys Inc., retired and living on Thetis Island, B.C.

Acknowledgements

We thank the friends and colleagues, too numerous to list, who have helped us over the years. We respectfully acknowledge the Haida, Gitga’at, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Kwakwaka’wakw, Heiltsuk, and Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations on whose traditional territories the kelp data were collected. We thank G. Saunders for sharing information on his dive sites in Haida Gwaii. M. and E. Foster prepared the distribution maps and E. Foster provided valuable comments on an early draft of the manuscript. MWH acknowledges Dr. R. Scagel for bringing the disjunct distribution of Eisenia to his attention. JCW thanks the community of Kyuquot, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, and especially Dr. R. DeWreede, who piqued an interest in stipitate kelps. AL thanks Donna and Charlie Gibbs who created and manage his sightings database. Three anonymous reviewers provided thoughtful comments that improved the manuscript. LCL thank the communities of Kyuquot, Bella Bella and Haida Gwaii, Hakai Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Parks Canada and Dr. A. Salomon at Simon Fraser University.

Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-05-01

Accepted: 2021-08-18

Published Online: 2021-10-11

Published in Print: 2021-10-26

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2021-0040

Keywords for this article

biogeography; climate change; glacial marine refugia; sea otter; urchin grazing