Climate change stimulates the growth of the intertidal macroalgae Ascophyllum nodosum near the northern distribution limit

Abstract

Ascophyllum nodosum is a foundation macroalgae of the intertidal zone that distributes across latitude 41.3–69.7°N. We tested the hypothesis that growth of A. nodosum near the northern distribution edge increases with warming. We retrospectively quantified the growth of eight A. nodosum populations at West Greenland and North Norway (from 64°N to 69°N). For seven populations, we measured growth rates since 1997–2002 and for one of them we extended the time series back to 1956 using published estimates. Individuals at northern populations elongated between 2.0 and 9.1 cm year−1 and this variability correlated with temperature and annual ice-free days. A spatial comparison of A. nodosum growth across the species distribution range showed that Northern (and coldest) populations grew at the slowest rates. Our results demonstrate that arctic climate change enhances the growth of A. nodosum populations and suggest that their productivity may increase in response to projected global warming.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-016-0873-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Rising air temperatures will increase intertidal mussel abundance in the Arctic

“…Arctic warming therefore negatively affects the abundance of some Arctic species, while potentially benefiting temperate species (e.g. through increased growth, abundance and biodiversity) as poleward geographical ranges expand and new habitats become available (Wȩ sławski et al 2010, Poloczanska et al 2016, Marbà et al 2017. Thus, the potential positive effects on temperate species at their poleward distribution edge need to be studied further.…”

Projected 21st‐century distribution of canopy‐forming seaweeds in the Northwest Atlantic with climate change

“…Increasing summer SST is the primary driver of shifts of the southern (warm) range limit, as SST surpasses growth and mortality thresholds. Whereas, increasing winter SST facilitates faster growth rates (Bolton & Lüning, ; Marbà et al, ) and greater recruitment (Filbee‐Dexter et al, ). Diffuse attenuation and sea ice coverage were also important predictors for seaweed distribution.…”

“…In comparison, projected SST increases, decreases in ice cover, and changing salinity and turbidity patterns in the Arctic will generally have positive effects on the distributional range and production of fucoids and kelps (Filbee‐Dexter et al, ; Marbà et al, ). Yet the projected northward spread of temperate/boreal species may negatively affect established species such as F. evanescens (Küpper et al, ) and the endemic kelp L. solidungula (Filbee‐Dexter et al, ).…”

“…Each species exhibits a continual distribution from their southern (warm edge) limit to southern Labrador for C. crispus and C. fragile (Adey & Hayek, 2011;Matheson, Mckenzie, Sargent, Hurley, & Wells, 2014) and north to the Hudson Strait for the other four species. Kelps and F. vesiculosus occur in Hudson Bay (Mathieson, Moore, & Short, 2010;McDevit & Saunders, 2010), fucoids and S. latissima in Western Greenland (Høgslund, Sejr, Wiktor, Blicher, & Wegeberg, 2014;Marbà et al, 2017), and F. vesiculosus and S. latissima into the high Arctic (Filbee-Dexter, Wernberg, Fredriksen, Norderhaug, & Pedersen, 2019).…”

Algal Communities: An Answer to Global Climate Change

“…These features can also be used to evaluate seawater quality and water pollution. For example, studying the growth and productivity of the macroalgae Ascophyllum nodosum , is suited to monitor the global warming effects at West Greenland and North Norway . In a different study, it was found that another brown alga, Padina pavonica , can be used as bioindicator to assess ocean acidification since P. pavonica is a sensitive reporter of acute environmental pH changes; acidified conditions induce decalcification and the uncovered P. pavonica is subject to the dangers posed by exposure to high light …”