Ecological performance differs between range centre and trailing edge populations of a cold-water kelp: implications for
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Ecological performance differs between range centre and trailing edge populations of a cold‑water kelp: implications for estimating net primary productivity Nathan G. King1,2 · Pippa J. Moore2 · Albert Pessarrodona3 · Michael T. Burrows4 · Joanne Porter5 · Mathilde Bue2 · Dan A. Smale6 Received: 27 March 2020 / Accepted: 22 July 2020 / Published online: 28 August 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Kelp forests are extensive, widely distributed and highly productive. However, despite their importance, reliable estimates of net primary productivity (NPP) are currently unknown for most species and regions. In particular, how performance and subsequent NPP change throughout a species range is lacking. Here, we attempted to resolve this by examining growth and performance of the boreal kelp, Laminaria digitata, from range centre and trailing edge regions in the United Kingdom. During the peak growth season (March/April), range-centre individuals were up to three times heavier and accumulated biomass twice as fast as their trailing-edge counterparts. This was not apparent during the reduced growth season (August/September), when populations within both regions had similar biomass profiles. In total, annual NPP estimates were considerably lower for trailing-edge (181 ± 34 g C m −2 year−1) compared to range-centre (344 ± 33 g C m −2 year−1) populations. Our first-order UK estimates of total standing stock and NPP for L. digitata suggest this species makes a significant contribution to coastal carbon cycling. Further work determining the ultimate fate of this organic matter is needed to understand the overall contribution of kelp populations to regional and global carbon cycles. Nevertheless, we highlight the need for large-scale sampling across multiple populations and latitudes to accurately evaluate kelp species’ contributions to coastal carbon cycling.
Responsible Editor: M. Roleda. Reviewed by I. Bartsch, G. Pearson and an undisclosed expert. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03743-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Nathan G. King [email protected] 1
Centre of Applied Marine Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, UK
2
Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
3
UWA Oceans, Institute and School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Fairway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
4
Scottish Association for Marine Science, Dunbeg, Argyll, Oban PA37 1QA, UK
5
International Centre for Island Technology, Heriot Watt University, Stromness KW16 3AW, UK
6
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
Introduction Macroalgae (i.e. kelps and other seaweeds) underpin some of the most extensive and productive coastal ecosystems globally (Mann 1973; Smith 1981; Duarte and Cebrián 1996). Many macroalgal species, including most kelps, exhibit high rates of
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