Reed Daniel C, Schroeter Stephen C, Huang David, Weisman Denise, Beheshti Kathryn M, Smith Rachel S
Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
J Phycol. 2024 Oct;60(5):1121-1138. doi: 10.1111/jpy.13487. Epub 2024 Jul 27.
The success and cost-effectiveness of kelp forest restoration hinges on understanding the colonization ecology of kelps, particularly with respect to dispersal potential, recruitment success, and subsequent establishment. To gain needed insight into these processes we examined spatial patterns and temporal trajectories of the colonization of a large artificial reef by the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. The 151 ha artificial reef complex was constructed in three phases over 21 years, enabling dispersal, recruitment, and subsequent establishment to be examined for a wide range of environmental conditions, dispersal distances, and source population sizes. Natural colonization of all phases of the artificial reef by giant kelp was rapid (within 1 year) and extended across the entire 7-km-long reef complex. Colonization density declined with distance from the nearest source population, but only during the first phase when the distance from the nearest source population was ≤3.5 km. Despite this decline, recruitment on artificial reef modules farthest from the source population was sufficient to produce dense stands of kelp within a couple of years. Experimental outplanting of the artificial reef with laboratory-reared kelp embryos was largely successful but proved unnecessary, as the standing biomass of kelp resulting from natural recruitment exceeded that observed on nearby natural reefs within 2-3 years of artificial reef construction for all three phases. Such high potential for natural colonization following disturbance has important implications for kelp forest restoration efforts that employ costly and logistically difficult methods to mimic this process by active seeding and transplanting.
海带森林恢复的成功与否及其成本效益取决于对海带定殖生态学的理解，特别是在扩散潜力、补充成功率以及后续定殖方面。为了深入了解这些过程，我们研究了大型褐藻巨藻对一个大型人工礁的定殖空间模式和时间轨迹。这个151公顷的人工礁群在21年里分三个阶段建成，使得我们能够在广泛的环境条件、扩散距离和源种群规模下研究扩散、补充和后续定殖情况。人工礁各个阶段被巨藻自然定殖的速度很快（在1年内），并且扩展到了整个7公里长的礁群。定殖密度随着与最近源种群距离的增加而下降，但仅在第一阶段，即与最近源种群的距离≤3.5公里时出现这种情况。尽管有这种下降，但距离源种群最远的人工礁模块上的补充量足以在几年内形成茂密的海带林。用实验室培育的海带胚胎对人工礁进行实验性移植基本成功，但事实证明没有必要，因为在人工礁建设后的2至3年内，所有三个阶段自然补充形成的海带现存生物量都超过了附近天然礁上观察到的值。干扰后如此高的自然定殖潜力对于海带森林恢复工作具有重要意义，这些恢复工作采用成本高昂且在后勤上困难的方法，通过主动播种和移植来模拟这个过程。
