Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Tasmania, 7004, Australia.
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Tasmania, 7004, Australia.
Mar Environ Res. 2021 Oct;171:105450. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105450. Epub 2021 Aug 28.
Ecosystem engineering kelp forms habitat and influences associated communities by altering abiotic conditions. These conditions can also affect the engineer's own demographic rates but the mechanisms underpinning these feedbacks are not well known. Here, we tested the interactive effects of three abiotic factors engineered by the Australasian kelp Ecklonia radiata (light, water flow and scour) on the early survivorship and growth of its outplanted microscopic recruits. After six weeks, recruit survivorship was high in the absence of scour and low light (2-3 times higher than when scour was present) and under low water flow-ambient light conditions. Growth of sporophytes was strongly related to light, with recruits under ambient light approximately four times larger after six weeks. Overall, reduced scour (for survivorship) and ambient light (for growth) appear crucial for maximising E. radiata recruitment suggesting a healthy forest can provide microenvironments to enhance survivorship while gaps in the canopy enhance growth.
生态系统工程褐藻通过改变非生物条件来形成栖息地并影响相关群落。这些条件也会影响工程师自身的人口增长率，但这些反馈的机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们测试了由澳大拉西亚褐藻(Ecklonia radiata)工程化的三个非生物因素（光、水流和冲刷）对其外植微小苗的早期存活率和生长的相互作用影响。六周后，在没有冲刷和弱光的情况下（比有冲刷时高 2-3 倍），以及在低水流-环境光条件下，苗的存活率较高。孢子体的生长与光照密切相关，在六周后，处于环境光照下的苗大约是四倍大。总的来说，减少冲刷（提高存活率）和环境光（促进生长）对于最大限度地提高 E. radiata 的繁殖似乎至关重要，这表明健康的森林可以提供微环境来提高存活率，而树冠的间隙则可以促进生长。
