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| Amber Szoboszlai While a student at Moss Landing Marine Labs, I have been studying the facilitative effect of intertidal macroalgal canopies on the recruitment success of the intertidal alga Pelvetiopsis limitata. Intertidal algal canopies can modify physical conditions such as temperature and humidity in benthic microhabitats, impacting the survival & recruitment of algal propagules. Endocladia muricata and P. limitata coexist in a patchy distribution in the upper intertidal across much of central California. Early in my graduate career, I observed Pelvetiopsis recruits growing within the turf-like thallus of Endocladia. This observation suggested the presence of a facilitative relationship between Endocladia and Pelvetiopsis. For my master’s thesis, I have designed a field experiment
that manipulates cover of different intertidal
algal species. At my study site I have established permanent plots
that have been weeded to include different algal canopies: Endocladia
only, Pelvetiopsis only, and Total
Clearings (complete removal of algal cover). Since 2005 I have been
tracking visible Pelvetiopsis recruits <1cm high in
the different treatments. Contact info: Amber Szoboszlai
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Preliminary
results indicate that Pelvetiopsis recruitment is enhanced
by the presence of algal canopies, but that algal canopy species
composition has little effect. This observation is further supported
by the springtime appearance of Porphyra sp. in the plots
and a subsequent high number of Pelvetiopsis recruits.
Proximity and position of reproductive adult Pelvetiopsis
also appear to positively influence recruitment success. This relationship
between algal canopy cover and recruitment success of Pelvetiopsis
has important implications for understanding patterns of species
distribution and diversity.