Importance of structure and density of macroalgae communities (Fucus serratus) for photosynthetic production and light utilisation

Binzer, Thomas; Sand‐Jensen, Kaj

doi:10.3354/meps235053

Cited by 35 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Furthermore, laboratory measurements of primary production in single specimens often fail to account for inter-and intra-species interactions among algal species that occur under natural conditions (Middelboe & Binzer 2004). Recent research has indicated the important influence of algal density and diversity on the use of light (Binzer & Sand-Jensen 2002, Middelboe & Binzer 2004 and reveals the problems associated with measuring productivity in single specimens or excised tissue. Light attenuation through canopy species results in greater filtration of light and, therefore, a more linear relationship between productivity and irradiance compared to saturation curves seen in single species incubations (Binzer & SandJensen 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of productivity in naturally structured macroalgal assemblages: importance of canopy structure on light-use efficiency

Tait¹,

Schiel²

2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Macroalgae are undoubtedly a major supplier of organic carbon to marine food webs, yet few studies have attempted to examine primary production in complex macroalgal communities. Many studies have tested the photosynthetic characteristics of single species with little attention given to the associated algal assemblages. The role of canopy structure and species diversity in these assemblages will help in understanding the role of biodiversity in enhancing ecosystem function. In the present study, photosynthesis-irradiance relationships (P-E curves) of intact intertidal algal assemblages showed no signs of saturation at high irradiance levels, as is typically seen in singlespecies curves. Canopy-forming species appear to play a vital role in enhancing overall assemblage net photosynthesis, particularly at high irradiances (>1500 µmol m -2 s -1 ), with the loss of canopy species causing up to a 50% decline in the photosynthetic rate of assemblages. There is also evidence that the mechanisms of light use are significantly different in intact assemblages because they do not act as the sum of their parts at high irradiance levels. Furthermore, with greater structural complexity, net photosynthesis of the assemblage is enhanced, particularly at high irradiance. The present study demonstrates the importance of using realistic species compositions and assemblage structure to identify the potential mechanisms enhancing function with increasing diversity. A better understanding of light-use efficiency within macroalgal communities underpins the role of biodiversity and community structure in these ecosystems and the potential effects of species loss on various forms of ecosystem function.KEY WORDS: Macroalgae · Net photosynthesis · Assemblage · Irradiance · Canopy Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 421: [97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107] 2011 sonal biomass accumulation, in situ measurements of frond elongation or frond area increments fail to take account of processes such as abrasion, herbivory, reproduction, and sloughing in estimations of primary productivity (Larkum 1986). Likewise, short-term incubations measuring carbon assimilation (or oxygen production) are often performed using excised tissue of macroalgal specimens (Flores-Moya et al. 1995, Gómez et al. 1997 and extrapolating these to whole plants. Furthermore, laboratory measurements of primary production in single specimens often fail to account for inter-and intra-species interactions among algal species that occur under natural conditions (Middelboe & Binzer 2004). Recent research has indicated the important influence of algal density and diversity on the use of light (Binzer & Sand-Jensen 2002, Middelboe & Binzer 2004 and reveals the problems associated with measuring productivity in single specimens or excised tissue. Light attenuation through canopy species results in greater filtration of light and, therefore, a more linear relationship between productivity and irr...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of productivity in naturally structured macroalgal assemblages: importance of canopy structure on light-use efficiency

Tait¹,

Schiel²

2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Van der Bijl et al 1989, Krause-Jensen & SandJensen 1998, Binzer & Sand-Jensen 2002a. This is unfortunate, as the scale of interest for the plant is not performance of a single leaf or a part of the thallus, but the overall performance of the whole plant or plant community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From thallus to communities: scale effects and photosynthetic performance in macroalgae communities

Binzer¹,

Middelboe²

2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Experiments on aquatic plant photosynthesis are often performed on spatial scales much smaller than natural systems. The photosynthesis-irradiance relationship (P-I curve) depends, however, on whether photosynthesis is measured on leaves, shoots, plants or entire communities, so that results cannot be reliably extrapolated from the limited spatial scale of experiments to the larger scale of natural systems. To evaluate how the photosynthetic response changes with spatial scale for aquatic plants, we measured the photosynthetic production as a function of irradiance for thallus pieces, single-species and multi-species communities of 4 different marine algae (Fucus serratus, Chordaria flagelliformis, Enteromorpha sp. and Ahnfeltia plicata). Thallus pieces followed the wellknown hyperbolic shape of P-I curves; that is, the community P-I curves approached linearity. Thallus pieces, thus, saturated at irradiances below 160 µmol photons m -2 s -1, while the communities started to saturate at values 4 times higher and never became fully saturated even at 1750 µmol photons m -2 s -1. This increasing linearisation of the P-I relationship for communities influenced the photosynthetic parameters, as maximum gross photosynthesis and compensation irradiances increased 3 to 8 times. The increasing linearisation of the P-I curves is attributed to the 3-dimensional structure of the communities, since communities with a low extinction per unit leaf area, and thus an even distribution of irradiance among thallus parts, used their potential photosynthesis capacity more efficiently. Although not significantly different, multi-species communities had a slightly more linear response and a higher gross photosynthesis than single-species communities, suggesting a more efficient distribution and photosynthetic use of light among the photosynthetic tissue. An increase in spatial scale from thallus pieces to communities decreased variation in photosynthetic rates between species, implying that differences between species are much smaller on natural scales than experiments on single thallus pieces suggest. The findings imply that experiments on the thallus scale should be avoided or treated with caution when predicting the ecological performance of plants in their natural habitat.KEY WORDS: Community · Photosynthesis · Production · Macroalgae · IrradianceResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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“…Besides measuring community production, photosynthetic parameters of thallus pieces were measured as oxygen development in a small chamber exposed to a perpendicular light beam as described in Binzer and Sand-Jensen (2002). Assuming that reflectance is negligible when incident light is at right angles, thallus absorptance was estimated from the transmittance of a perpendicular light beam.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multilayered communities with a horizontal orientation of layers will continue to have a photosynthetic gain at increasing irradiance because more photons are transmitted to the lower strata in the community where photosynthetic capacity is not utilized. The onset of photosaturation for natural communities of Fucus serratus is reached at low irradiances (Ͻ200 mol photons m Ϫ2 s Ϫ1 ), but they do not become fully saturated even at 1,600 mol photons m Ϫ2 s Ϫ1 (Binzer and Sand-Jensen 2002), implying that these communities distribute photons unevenly. In contrast, efficient structures are observed in terrestrial forest vegetation where the gross production-light response curve is almost linear up to 1,500 mol photons m Ϫ2 s Ϫ1 (Ceulemans and Saugier 1991;Ruimy et al 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…However, gross production does not represent the excess energy available for community growth, which is better represented by net production. In general, net community production will increase up to a certain threshold of LAI and then decrease above this value (de Wit 1970;Binzer and Sand-Jensen 2002). So entire plant communities do not benefit from a higher gross production in very dense stands because net production declines because of greater respiration than photosynthesis in the lower strata.…”

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Production in aquatic macrophyte communities: A theoretical and empirical study of the influence of spatial light distribution

Binzer

Sand‐Jensen

2002

Limnology & Oceanography

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Many terrestrial plant canopies regulate spatial patterns in leaf density and leaf inclination to distribute light evenly between the photosynthetic tissue and to optimize light utilization efficiency. Sessile aquatic macrophytes, however, cannot maintain the same well-defined three-dimensional structure because of the strong drag and shear forces of moving water. This difference in canopy structure has been suggested to account for the three-to fivefold higher gross production rates in terrestrial than aquatic communities. To evaluate the effect of community structure in aquatic habitats, we combined a simple mechanistic model and empirical measurements on artificially structured macroalgal communities (Ulva lactuca) with varying thallus absorptance and community density. Predicted and measured values corresponded closely and revealed that gross production in high-light environments was markedly enhanced by a vertical orientation of thalli when absorptance and community density were both high. This result implies that aquatic macrophytes of high thallus absorptance and community density exposed to high light are limited in attaining high gross production rates because of their inability to distribute photons evenly between the photosynthetic tissues. As scattering and attenuation in the water column increase, the effect of thallus structure on production declines and thin transparent macrophytes are more efficient at utilizing light than thick opaque macrophytes. The results confirm that inefficient distribution of light can account for the low community production rates in aquatic habitats and the depth distribution of form-functional groups of macroalgae with different canopy structure.

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Importance of structure and density of macroalgae communities (Fucus serratus) for photosynthetic production and light utilisation

Cited by 35 publications

References 24 publications

Dynamics of productivity in naturally structured macroalgal assemblages: importance of canopy structure on light-use efficiency

Dynamics of productivity in naturally structured macroalgal assemblages: importance of canopy structure on light-use efficiency

From thallus to communities: scale effects and photosynthetic performance in macroalgae communities

Production in aquatic macrophyte communities: A theoretical and empirical study of the influence of spatial light distribution

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