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Physical factors driving intertidal macroalgae distribution: physiological stress of a dominant fucoid at its southern limit

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Climate change is driving species range shifts worldwide. However, physiological responses related to distributional changes are not fully understood. Oceanographers have reported an increase in ocean temperature in the northwest Iberian Peninsula that is potentially related to the decline in some cold-temperate intertidal macroalgae in the Cantabrian Sea, namely Fucus serratus. Low tide stress could also play a role in this decline. We performed one mensurative (in situ) and two manipulative (in culture) experiments designed to evaluate the interactive effects of some physical factors. The first experiment analysed field response to low tide stress in marginal (mid-Cantabrian Sea and northern Portugal) versus central (Galicia) populations of F. serratus. Then a second experiment was performed that utilized either harsh or mild summer conditions of atmospheric temperature, irradiance, humidity, and wind velocity to compare the responses of individuals from one marginal and one central population to low tide stress. Finally, the combined effect of sea temperature and the other factors was evaluated to detect interactive effects. Changes in frond growth, maximal photosynthetic quantum yield (F v/F m), temperature, and desiccation were found. Three additive factors (solar irradiation, ocean and air temperatures) were found to drive F. serratus distribution, except under mildly humid conditions that ameliorated atmospheric thermal stress (two additive factors). Mid-Cantabrian Sea temperatures have recently increased, reaching the inhibitory levels suggested in this study of F. serratus. We also expect an additive secondary contribution of low tide stress to this species decline. On the northern Portugal coast, ocean warming plus low tide stress has not reached this species’ inhibition threshold. No significant differential responses attributed to the population of origin were found. Mechanistic approaches that are designed to analyse the interactive effects of physical stressors may improve the levels of confidence in predicted range shifts of species.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank L. De Hond and A. Marhadour for their linguistic assistance. BM, FA, RMV, FLF, and JIGP are grateful for the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain (projects HP2007-0081, CGL2007-66095, CGL2008-05407, CGL2010-19301, and BFU2010-15021), the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) of Portugal (project PTDC/MAR/105147/2008 co-funded by FEDER through the programme COMPETE-QREN), and the Basque Government (UPV/EHU-GV IT-299-07). We would also like to thank the handling editor A. Underwood, and two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful review of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28933, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain

    Brezo Martínez, S. Burgués, L. Saldaña & R. M. Viejo

  2. Laboratory of Coastal Biodiversity, CIIMAR, University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    F. Arenas, M. Rubal, R. Pereira, I. Sousa-Pinto & A. Trilla

  3. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, UPV/EHU, Apdo. 644, 48080, Bilbao, Spain

    R. Esteban & I. García-Plazaola

  4. Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Málaga University, 2907, Málaga, Spain

    F. L. Figueroa

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  1. Brezo Martínez
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Correspondence to Brezo Martínez.

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Communicated by Tony Underwood.

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Martínez, B., Arenas, F., Rubal, M. et al. Physical factors driving intertidal macroalgae distribution: physiological stress of a dominant fucoid at its southern limit. Oecologia 170, 341–353 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2324-x

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