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Long-term change in a high-intertidal rockweed (Pelvetiopsis californica) and community-level consequences

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Abstract

Rockweeds can dominate temperate rocky intertidal habitats and support a diversity of flora and fauna that find refuge underneath the canopy-forming seaweed. Pelvetiopsis californica is an upper intertidal rockweed endemic to California (USA) and Baja California (MEX) with little known about its distribution and abundance, nor its ecological role as a habitat former. We examined long-term changes in the abundance and distribution of P. californica and its effects on the upper shore community, along the coast of California. Similar to patterns observed in other rockweeds globally, P. californica has declined over the past several decades, including extirpation at 30% of sites sampled, clustered around urban centers of southern California, and a large decline in abundance at most sites from a long-term (~ 20 + years) monitoring program. Currently, P. californica exhibits a patchy distribution, particularly in southern California where it is absent from long stretches of shoreline. In community surveys across a large geographic scale (32°–36° latitude), high zone community composition was significantly different at sites where P. californica was present, even at relatively low cover, than when the alga was absent. Within-site community surveys also showed that communities associated with P. californica were different than when the rockweed was absent, highlighted by a higher diversity of algae and invertebrates. Probable stressors, such as trampling and climate change, are likely to worsen in the future, further reducing P. californica populations. Due to limited reproductive dispersal capabilities and fragmented populations, natural recovery seems unlikely and active restoration may be necessary.

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Data availability

Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe) data are available by request at pacificrockyintertidal.org, historical data can be found in supplementary tables, and community data are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful for the support provided by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the associated Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe), including presence/absence data from MARINe members associated with the Channel Island National Park Services, University of California, Santa Cruz, University of California, Los Angeles, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Cabrillo National Monument, and Navy Marine Ecology Consortium Laboratory. In addition, MARINe provided long-term monitoring data collected by numerous partners within the consortium; see pacificrockyintertidal.org for a complete list of the MARINe partners responsible for monitoring and funding. MARINE database management was primarily supported by BOEM, the National Park Services, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and the United States Navy. We thank the Orange County Marine Protected Area Council (OCMPAC), California State Parks, UC Natural Reserve System, USC Wrigley Institute, Hopkins Marine Station, and Cabrillo National Monument for allowing access to sites. We also appreciate statistical advice provided by S. Whitaker (Univ. of California, Santa Barbra) and E. Carrington (Univ. of Washington) which improved earlier drafts of this manuscript. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments which greatly improved the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by NSF Biological Training in Education and Research program (BioTiER, NSF Grant #1259702); the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (CPP) Biological Sciences Department Rachel Carson scholarship; the Mentoring, Educating, Networking, and Thematic Opportunities for Research in Engineering and Science program (MENTORES, funded by a Title V grant, Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans U.S. Department of Education Award # P031M140025); and the CPP Biology Research Funds awarded to RJF.

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  1. Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 3801 W. Temple Ave, Pomona, CA, 91768, USA

    Robin J. Fales & Jayson R. Smith

  2. Department of Biology, University of Washington, Box 351800, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Robin J. Fales

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RJF and JRS conceived the study, designed the methods, and secured funding. RJF led data collection, analysis, and writing of the manuscript. Both authors contributed to drafts and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Robin J. Fales.

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Fales, R.J., Smith, J.R. Long-term change in a high-intertidal rockweed (Pelvetiopsis californica) and community-level consequences. Mar Biol 169, 34 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-022-04022-1

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