An assessment of seaweed decomposition within a southern Strait of Georgia seaweed community

Smith, Barry D.; Foreman, R. E.

doi:10.1007/bf00393005

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, despite their high association with the tagged detritus, urchins did not trap old blades observed in accumulations, and are likely saturated during the peak blade release. Fragmented and consumed kelp (such as urchin feces) have different chemical composition and material properties compared to stipes and fresh or old blades (Smith and Foreman 1984;Sauchyn and Scheibling 2009;Dethier et al 2014), and the extent that urchins and other grazers shred and consume detritus should strongly influence its export and uptake (Sauchyn and Scheibling 2009). This is, however, unknown.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement of pulsed resource subsidies from kelp forests to deep fjords

et al. 2018

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Resource subsidies in the form of allochthonous primary production drive secondary production in many ecosystems, often sustaining diversity and overall productivity. Despite their importance in structuring marine communities, there is little understanding of how subsidies move through juxtaposed habitats and into recipient communities. We investigated the transport of detritus from kelp forests to a deep Arctic fjord (northern Norway). We quantified the seasonal abundance and size structure of kelp detritus in shallow subtidal (0‒12 m), deep subtidal (12‒85 m), and deep fjord (400‒450 m) habitats using a combination of camera surveys, dive observations, and detritus collections over 1 year. Detritus formed dense accumulations in habitats adjacent to kelp forests, and the timing of depositions coincided with the discrete loss of whole kelp blades during spring. We tracked these blades through the deep subtidal and into the deep fjord, and showed they act as a short-term resource pulse transported over several weeks. In deep subtidal regions, detritus consisted mostly of fragments and its depth distribution was similar across seasons (50% of total observations). Tagged pieces of detritus moved slowly out of kelp forests (displaced 4‒50 m (mean 11.8 m ± 8.5 SD) in 11‒17 days, based on minimum estimates from recovered pieces), and most (75%) variability in the rate of export was related to wave exposure and substrate. Tight resource coupling between kelp forests and deep fjords indicate that changes in kelp abundance would propagate through to deep fjord ecosystems, with likely consequences for the ecosystem functioning and services they provide.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement of pulsed resource subsidies from kelp forests to deep fjords

et al. 2018

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“…Our measured decomposition rates are similar to values reported by Inglis (1989) for the kelp Macrocystis pyrifera along a New Zealand sandy beach. Smith & Foreman (1984) compared the breakdown rate of submerged sample bags for 10 species of sea- weeds in the Strait of Georgia, Canada, and found that species with lower crude fiber content and decreasing particle size decomposed faster than other species. We do not have data on fiber content of Ulva sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of supratidal invertebrates in the decomposition of beach-cast green algae Ulva sp.

Catenazzi¹,

Donnelly²

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…At the higher N 2 fixation rates measured at the end of our in situ decomposition experiment, N 2 fixation could contribute up to a 4-fold increase in N availability from kelp. Since, the C:N ratio of live kelp is high (mean 44.2, this study; data not shown), epibiotic N 2 fixation could potentially improve the nutritional quality of the kelp substrate for herbivores and detritivores (Smith and Foreman 1984).…”

Section: Nitrogen Fixation and Macrocystis Decompositionmentioning

confidence: 97%