Home Growth rates, standing stocks, and estimates of net primary production for the kelps Agarum clathratum, Hedophyllum nigripes, and Eualaria fistulosa (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska
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Growth rates, standing stocks, and estimates of net primary production for the kelps Agarum clathratum, Hedophyllum nigripes, and Eualaria fistulosa (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska

  • Dennis Cody Lees

    Dennis Cody Lees has performed numerous ecological and fisheries studies focused on industrial impacts on pristine intertidal and nearshore ecosystems. Since 1975, he has conducted major intertidal and diving studies in nearshore habitats to assess development impacts in Cook Inlet, Outer Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William Sound. Principal investigator on multi-year intertidal/subtidal studies in PWS, he investigated initial impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, biological costs and effects of shoreline treatment following EVOS, and long-term effects and recovery of biota.

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    , William B. Driskell

    William B. Driskell is an independent consultant degreed in Oceanography with marine biology experience in Alaska and Kuwait. Also, processed and interpreted oil-spill forensic-chemistry data on several national spills of concern.

    and David E. Erikson

    David E. Erikson has conducted numerous intertidal field studies in Southeast Alaska for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cook Inlet, Alaska for National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCEAP), and for Prince William Sound, Alaska, for the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) effects investigations. In addition, he has conducted extensive contaminant sampling of intertidal species traditionally used for food by local indigenous residents in areas affected by the EVOS.

Published/Copyright: February 21, 2025

Abstract

We measured baseline growth rates of perennial understory kelps, Agarum clathratum and Hedophyllum nigripes, and canopy-forming Eualaria fistulosa from March 1977 through October 1978 in Jakolof Bay, Kachemak Bay, Alaska. We measured density and biomass of several kelp species in the entrance to Jakolof Bay, at Seldovia Point, and at Latouche Point, Latouche Is., in an ocean entrance into Prince William Sound. We used Kachemak Bay data to estimate primary productivity in these kelp beds. In view of current records demonstrating increasing sea-surface temperatures in the Gulf of Alaska, these baseline data provide a useful basis for evaluating effects of climate change or other environmental effects. Growth rates, highest from late winter/early spring and lowest from late summer until mid-winter, changed seasonally. Rates were fastest in Eualaria, the largest of these kelps, and slowest in Agarum, the smallest. Rates and seasonality of stipe growth varied among species. Stipe growth, observed seasonally in Agarum and Hedophyllum, occurred from spring through mid-summer; rates were slowest in Agarum. Stipe growth in the annual Eualaria occurred throughout its life span. Tissue growth and primary production varied among species; all produced appreciable quantities of fixed carbon annually. Estimated production for understory kelps off Seldovia Point varied from 73 g C m−2 yr−1 for Agarum to 87 g C m−2 yr−1 for Hedophyllum. Estimated production for canopy-forming kelps was an order of magnitude higher. Value of these decades-old baseline data cannot be over-emphasized in view of growing awareness of effects of climate change on kelps.


Corresponding author: Dennis Cody Lees, Littoral Ecological & Environmental Services, 1075 Urania Ave., Leucadia, CA 92024, USA, E-mail:

Funding source: Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

About the authors

Dennis Cody Lees

Dennis Cody Lees has performed numerous ecological and fisheries studies focused on industrial impacts on pristine intertidal and nearshore ecosystems. Since 1975, he has conducted major intertidal and diving studies in nearshore habitats to assess development impacts in Cook Inlet, Outer Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William Sound. Principal investigator on multi-year intertidal/subtidal studies in PWS, he investigated initial impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, biological costs and effects of shoreline treatment following EVOS, and long-term effects and recovery of biota.

William B. Driskell

William B. Driskell is an independent consultant degreed in Oceanography with marine biology experience in Alaska and Kuwait. Also, processed and interpreted oil-spill forensic-chemistry data on several national spills of concern.

David E. Erikson

David E. Erikson has conducted numerous intertidal field studies in Southeast Alaska for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cook Inlet, Alaska for National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCEAP), and for Prince William Sound, Alaska, for the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) effects investigations. In addition, he has conducted extensive contaminant sampling of intertidal species traditionally used for food by local indigenous residents in areas affected by the EVOS.

Acknowledgments

We thank NOAA/OCSEAP for funding, managing, and reviewing the reports on this project, especially Dr. Paul Becker. DCL wishes to thank Richard J. Rosenthal for introducing him to kelp ecology. We are grateful to RJR and Thomas Rosenthal for sharing in the diving activities, Deborah Boettcher for kelp measurements in lab, data entry, data analysis, and to Sandra C. Lindstrom for assisting with the ever-changing taxonomy for kelp, reviewing drafts of the manuscript, and for timely suggestions on more recent publications that have contributed to valuable updates of the manuscript. We are also grateful to three anonymous reviewers for encouraging updating the manuscript by introducing more recent literature, a relevant regression statistic, and topics of importance in kelp ecology.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: DCL: design and implementation of field sampling and diving program, statistical analysis of data, preparation of figures and tables, writing of text. WBD: participation in diving program and field activities, kelp measurements in lab, data analysis, statistical analysis, review. DEE: kelp measurement in lab, logistics, review. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding this article.

  6. Research funding: Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Juneau, Alaska, office.

  7. Data availability: Not applicable.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2024-0064).


Received: 2024-08-15
Accepted: 2025-01-22
Published Online: 2025-02-21
Published in Print: 2025-04-28

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