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Modification of the physical environment by an Ecklonia radiata (Laminariales) canopy and implications for associated foliose algae

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Abstract

Macroalgal canopies modify their surrounding environment and thereby influence the structure of associated algal assemblages. Canopies can modify many factors that can be hard to separate and, consequently, the importance of individual factors often remains unknown. Experiments were carried out to test the hypotheses that Ecklonia radiata canopies modify light, sediment cover and water motion, and that each of these physical factors separately influence the assemblage of associated foliose algae. We measured light, sediment cover and water motion across six naturally occurring E. radiata densities and found a reduction in light and sediment cover as kelp density increased. The outcome for water motion was inconclusive. We also manipulated each of these three factors, while controlling for the two others, to determine the separate effects of light, sediment cover and water motion on the assemblage of foliose algae. Reduction in light had a strong effect on the foliose assemblage, reducing species richness and biomass. Reduction in sediment cover and water motion did not cause separate effects at the level of the assemblage, but the biomass of individual species of foliose algae indicated both positive and negative effects. We conclude that E. radiata canopies at Marmion, Western Australia, modify at least two factors of their physical environment, light and sediment cover. However, only light is modified to an extent where it has effects at the assemblage-level because, in contrast to the effects of sediment cover and water motion, the direction of responses are consistent among individual species of algae.

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Acknowledgements

The Danish Natural Science Research Council and The Danish Research Academy provided financial support through grants to TW. TW also received financial support from Knud Hoejgaards Fond and Julie von Müllens Fond. We would like to thank the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) Marine Conservation Branch, Perth, for permits to work at Marmion. We also would like to thank, M.A. Vanderklift, J.V. Riis, M.S. Thomsen and S. Kildesgaard for assistance in the field. M.A. Vanderklift and M.S. Thomsen are further acknowledged for valuable comments on early stages of this work and manuscript.

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  1. Thomas Wernberg

    Present address: Centre for Ecosystem Management, Bldg 19, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia

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  1. School of Plant Biology, Botany building MO90, University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, WA, Australia

    Thomas Wernberg, Gary A. Kendrick & Benjamin D. Toohey

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  1. Thomas Wernberg
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Correspondence to Thomas Wernberg.

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Wernberg, T., Kendrick, G.A. & Toohey, B.D. Modification of the physical environment by an Ecklonia radiata (Laminariales) canopy and implications for associated foliose algae. Aquat Ecol 39, 419–430 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-005-9009-z

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