Abstract
A number of species of macroalagae possess a flat, strap-like blade morphology in habitats exposed to rapidly-moving water whereas those at protected sites have a wider, undulate blade shape. We have explored the functional consequences of flat, narrow vs. wide, undulate blade morphologies in the giant bull kelpNereocystis luetkeana. Our study focused on the behavior of blades in ambient water currents and the consequences of that behavior to breakage and to photosynthesis. In flowing water, the narrow, flat blades flap with lower amplitude and collapse together into a more streamlined bundle than do wide, undulate blades, and hence experience lower drag per blade area at a given flow velocity. If the algae at current-swept sites had ruffled blades, drag forces would sometimes be sufficient to break the stipes. However, flat blades in a streamlined bundle experience more self-shading than do undulate blades, which remain spread out in water currents. Thus, there is a morphological trade-off between reducing drag and reducing self-shading. Photosynthetic14C-HCO3 uptake rates decrease in slow flow when the boundary layer along the blade surface across which diffusion takes place is relatively thick. However, blade flapping, which stirs water near the blade surface, enhances carbon uptake rates in slow water currents for both the undulate and the flat morphologies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Abbott, I. A., Hollenberg, G. J. (1976). Marine algae of California. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California
Anderson, S. M., Charters, A. C. (1982). A fluid dynamic study of seawater flow throughGelidium nudifrons. Limnol Oceanogr. 27: 399–412
Armstrong, S. L. (1982). Mechanical behavior of two morphs ofHedophyllum sessile (Phaeophyta, Laminariales) from exposed and protected habitats. Amer. Zool. 22: 907
Arnold, K. E., Manley, S. L. (1985). Carbon allocation inMacrocystis pyrifera (Phaeophyta): Intrinsic variability in photosynthesis and respiration. J. Phycol. 21: 154–167
Batchelor, G. K. (1967). An Introduction to Fluid Mechanics. Cambridge University Press, London
Bidwell, R. G. S., Lloyd, N. D. H., McLachlan, J. (1984). The performance ofChondrus crispus (Irish moss) in laboratory simulation of environments in different locations. Proc. int. Seaweed Symp 11: 292–294
Dennison, W. C., Alberte, R. S. (1982). Photosynthetic responses ofZostrea marina L. (eelgrass) toin situ manipulation of light intensity. Oecologia 55: 137–144
Dennison, W. C., Alberte, R. S. (1985). Role of daily light period in the depth distribution ofZostrea marina (eelgrass). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 25: 51–61
dePaula, E. J., deOlivera, E. C. (1982). Wave exposure and ecotypical differentiation inSargassum cymosum (Phaeophyta-Fucales). Physiologia 21: 143–153 (1982)
Gerard, V. A. (1982).In situ water motion and nutrient uptake by the giant kelpMacrocystis pyrifera. Mar. Biol. 69: 51–54
Gerard, V. A. (1986). Photosynthetic characteristics of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) determinedin situ. Mar. Biol. 90: 473–482
Gerard, V. A., Mann, K. H. (1979). Growth and production ofLaminaria longicruris (Phaeophyta) populations exposed to different intensities of water movement. J. Phycol. 15: 33–41
Gibbons, J. D. (1976). Nonparametric Methods for Quantitative Analysis. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York
Gust, G. (1977). Turbulence and waves inside flexible-wall systems designed for biological studies. Mar. Biol. 42: 47–53
Hoerner, S. F. (1965). Fluid-Dynamic Drag. S. F. Hoerner, Brick Tuon, New Jersey
Jackson, G. A., Winant, C. D. (1983). Effect of a kelp forest on coastal currents. Continental Shelf Res. 2: 75–80
Jeffrey, S. W., Humphrey, G. F. (1975). New spectrophotometric equations for determining chlorophyllsa, b, c1, andc2 in higher plants, algae, and natural phytoplankton. Biochem. Physiol. Pflanz. 167: 191–194
Kain, J. M. (1979). A view of the genusLaminaria. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. A. Rev. 17: 101–161
Kitching, J. A. et al. (1952). The ecology of Lough Ine. XIX. Seasonal changes in the trough. J. Anim. Ecol. 453: 731–758
Koehl, M. A. R. (1977). Effects of sea anemones on the flow forces they encounter. J. exp. Biol. 69: 127–142
Koehl, M. A. R. (1984). How do benthic orgnisms withstand moving water? Am. Zool. 24: 57–70
Koehl, M. A. R. (1986). Seaweeds in moving water: Form and mechanical function. In: Givnish, T. J. (ed.), On the economy of plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 603–634
Koehl, M. A. R., Wainwright, S. A. (1977). Mechanical adaptations of a giant kelp. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22: 1067–1071
Koehl, M. A. R., Wainwright, S. A. (1985). Biomechanics. In: Littler, M. M., Littler, D. S. (eds.), Handbook of Phycological Methods: Macroalgae. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge p. 292–313
LaBarbera, M. (1985). Mechanical properties of a North American aboriginal fishing line: The technology of a natural product. Amer. Anthropol. 87: 625–636
Lüning, K. (1979). Growth strategies of threeLaminaria species (Phaeophycae) inhabiting different depth zones in the sublittoral region of Helgoland (North Sea). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 1: 195–204
Monteith, J. L. (1973). Principles of environmental physics. American Elsevier Publishing Co., New York
Mazella, L., Alberte, R. S. (1986). Light adaptation and the role of autotrophic epiphytes in primary production of the temperate seagrass,Zostera marina L. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 100: 165–180
Neushul, M. (1972). Functional interpretation of benthic marine algal morphology. In: Abbott, I. A., Kurogi, M. (eds.) Contributions to the systematics of benthis marine algae of the North Pacific. Kobe, Jap. Soc. Phycol., p. 47–74.
Nobel, P. S. (1979). Biophysical plant physiology and ecology. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco
Norton, T. A. (1969). Growth form and environment inSaccorhiza polyschides. J. mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 49: 1025–1045
Norton, T. A., Matheson, A. C., Neushul, M. (1981). Morphology and environment. In: Lobban, C. S., Wynne, M. J. (eds.) The biology of seaweeds. Bot. Monogr., Vol. 17, University of California Press, Berkeley, California
Russell, G. (1978). Environment and form in the discrimination of taxa in brown algae. In: Irvine, D. E. G., Price, J. H. (eds.) Modern approaches to the taxonomy of red and brown algae. Syst. Assoc. Spec. Vol. No. 10, New York: Academic Press, New York, p. 339–369
Sokal, R. R., Rohlf, F. J. (1969). Biometry. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco
Smith, R. G., Wheeler, W. N., Srivastava, L. M. (1983). Seasonal photosynthetic performance ofMacrocystic integrifolia (Phaeophyceae). J. Phycol. 19: 352–359
Sundene, O. (1964). The ecology ofLaminaria digitata in Norway in view of transplant experiments. Nytt. Mag. Bot. 11: 83–107
Tidal Current Tables 1982 (1981). Pacific coast of North America and Asia. U. S. Dept. Commerce, Nat. Oceanic and Atmosph. Admin.
Vogel, S. (1981). Life in moving fluids. The physical biology of flow. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
Vogel, S., LaBarbera, M. (1978) Simple flow tanks for research and teaching. Bioscience 28: 638–643
Wheeler, W. N. (1980a). Effect of boundary layer transport on the fixation of carbon by the giant kelpMacrocystis pyrifera. Mar. Biol. 56: 103–110
Wheeler, W. N. (1980b) Laboratory and field studies of photosynthesis in the marine crop plantMacrocystis. Proc. Int. Seaweed Symp. 8: 264–272
Wheeler, W. N., Smith, R. G., Srivastava, L. M. (1984). Seasonal photosynthetic performance ofNereocystis luetkeana. Can. J. Bot. 62: 664–670
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. P. Grassle, Woods Hole
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Koehl, M.A.R., Alberte, R.S. Flow, flapping, and photosynthesis ofNereocystis leutkeana: a functional comparison of undulate and flat blade morphologies. Mar. Biol. 99, 435–444 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02112137
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02112137