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Dispersal potential of invasive algae: the determinants of buoyancy in Codium fragile ssp. fragile

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Abstract

The capacity for long-distance dispersal is an important factor in determining the spread of invasive species. For algae, positive buoyancy generally is correlated with increased dispersal potential, and the light environment has been previously identified as a possible determinant of buoyancy in several species. We examined the effect of light intensity on the buoyancy of fragments of the invasive green alga Codium fragile ssp. fragile. Under natural and controlled conditions, the buoyancy of samples taken from the thallus tip was higher than those from near the holdfast. Both laboratory and field experiments also showed that buoyancy was dynamic and switched from positive to negative under reduced light intensity, but this change required several days. We also observed seasonal changes in buoyancy, presumably due to natural variations in light intensity, with the buoyancy of fragments washed up on the shore highest in mid-summer. These results show that buoyancy is a dynamic property of the C. fragile ssp. fragile thallus and suggest that buoyant fragments contribute to long-range dispersal and accelerated regional spread of this invader. This finding suggests that dispersal is more likely during conditions of high light intensity and illustrates the need to understand how variations in the natural environment can affect the dispersal potential of invasive species.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge and appreciate funding from the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network (CAISN) of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), an NSERC Discovery Grant (LEJ), a grant from the Fondation Communautaire Gaspèsie-Les-Îles (LEJ & CWM), and Québec-Océan. We thank B. Myrand, M. Nadeau, and the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) for use of the laboratory facilities at Havre-aux-Maisons. Finally, we would like to thank A. Drouin, C. Chevrier-Turbide, O. Rhoades, G. Chevarie for assistance in the laboratory and the field, F. Gallien for technical laboratory assistance, the Service de Consultation Statistique at Université Laval for help with statistical analyses, and Martin Thiel and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier version of this paper.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

All experiments described in this paper comply with the laws of the country in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de biologie, Université Laval, 1045, avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Karine Gagnon & Ladd E. Johnson

  2. Maurice Lamontagne Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 850, route de la Mer, PO Box 1000, Mont-Joli, QC, G5H 3Z4, Canada

    Christopher W. McKindsey

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  1. Karine Gagnon
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  2. Christopher W. McKindsey
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Correspondence to Ladd E. Johnson.

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Communicated by P. Kraufvelin.

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Gagnon, K., McKindsey, C.W. & Johnson, L.E. Dispersal potential of invasive algae: the determinants of buoyancy in Codium fragile ssp. fragile . Mar Biol 158, 2449–2458 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1746-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1746-z

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