Species-speciWc defense strategies of vegetative versus reproductive blades of the PaciWc kelps Lessonia nigrescens and Macrocystis integrifolia

Chemical defense is assumed to be costly and therefore algae should allocate defense investments in a way to reduce costs and optimize their overall fitness. Thus, lifetime expectation of particular tissues and their contribution to the fitness of the alga may affect defense allocation. Two brown algae common to the SE Pacific coasts, Lessonia nigrescens Bory and Macrocystis integrifolia Bory, feature important ontogenetic differences in the development of reproductive structures; in L. nigrescens blade tissues pass from a vegetative stage to a reproductive stage, while in M. integrifolia reproductive and vegetative functions are spatially separated on different blades. We hypothesized that vegetative blades of L. nigrescens with important future functions are more (or equally) defended than reproductive blades, whereas in M. integrifolia defense should be mainly allocated to reproductive blades (sporophylls), which are considered to make a higher contribution to fitness. Herein, within-plant variation in susceptibility of reproductive and vegetative tissues to herbivory and in allocation of phlorotannins (phenolics) and N-compounds was compared. The results show that phlorotannin and N-concentrations were higher in reproductive blade tissues for both investigated algae. However, preferences by amphipod grazers (Parhyalella penai) for either tissue type differed between the two algal species. Fresh reproductive tissue of L. nigrescens was more consumed than vegetative tissue, while the reverse was found in M. integrifolia, thus confirming the original hypothesis. This suggests that future fitness function might indeed be a useful predictor of anti-herbivore defense in large, perennial kelps. Results from feeding assays with artificial pellets that were made with air-dried material and extract-treated Ulva powder indicated that defenses in live algae are probably not based on chemicals that can be extracted or remain intact after air-drying and grinding up algal tissues. Instead, anti-herbivore defense against amphipod mesograzers seems to depend on structural traits of living algae

Water-Borne Cues of a Non-Indigenous Seaweed Mediate Grazer-Deterrent Responses in Native Seaweeds, but Not Vice Versa

Plants optimise their resistance to herbivores by regulating deterrent responses on demand. Induction of anti-herbivory defences can occur directly in grazed plants or from emission of risk cues to the environment, which modifies interactions of adjacent plants with, for instance, their consumers. This study confirmed the induction of anti-herbivory responses by water-borne risk cues between adjoining con-specific seaweeds and firstly examined whether plant-plant signalling also exists among adjacent hetero-specific seaweeds. Furthermore, differential abilities and geographic variation in plant-plant signalling by a non-indigenous seaweed as well as native seaweeds were assessed. Twelve-day induction experiments using the non-indigenous seaweed Sargassum muticum were conducted in the laboratory in Portugal and Germany with one local con-familiar (Portugal: Cystoseira humilis, Germany: Halidrys siliquosa) and hetero-familiar native species (Portugal: Fucus spiralis, Germany: F. vesiculosus). All seaweeds were grazed by a local isopod species (Portugal: Stenosoma nadejda, Germany: Idotea baltica) and were positioned upstream of con- and hetero-specific seaweeds. Grazing-induced modification in seaweed traits were tested in three-day feeding assays between cue-exposed and cue-free ( = control) pieces of both fresh and reconstituted seaweeds. Both Fucus species reduced their palatability when positioned downstream of isopod-grazed con-specifics. Yet, the palatability of non-indigenous S. muticum remained constant in the presence of upstream grazed con-specifics and native hetero-specifics. In contrast, both con-familiar (but neither hetero-familiar) native species reduced palatability when located downstream of grazed S. muticum. Similar patterns of grazer-deterrent responses to water-borne cues were observed on both European shores, and were almost identical between assays using fresh and reconstituted seaweeds. Hence, seaweeds may use plant-plant signalling to optimise chemical resistance to consumers, though this ability appeared to be species-specific. Furthermore, this study suggests that native species may benefit more than a non-indigenous species from water-borne cue mediated reduction in consumption as only natives responded to signals emitted by hetero-specifics

Glacial vicariance drives phylogeographic diversification in the amphi-boreal kelp Saccharina latissima

Glacial vicariance is regarded as one of the most prevalent drivers of phylogeographic structure and speciation among high-latitude organisms, but direct links between ice advances and range fragmentation have been more difficult to establish in marine than in terrestrial systems. Here we investigate the evolution of largely disjunct (and potentially reproductively isolated) phylogeographic lineages within the amphi-boreal kelp Saccharina latissima s.l. Using molecular data (COI, microsatellites) we confirm that S. latissima comprises also the NE Pacific S. cichorioides complex and is composed of divergent lineages with limited range overlap and genetic admixture. Only a few genetic hybrids were detected throughout a Canadian Arctic/NW Greenland contact zone. The degree of genetic differentiation and sympatric isolation of phylogroups suggest that S. latissima s.l. represents a complex of incipient species. Phylogroup distributions compared with paleo-environmental reconstructions of the cryosphere further suggest that diversification within S. latissima results from chronic glacial isolation in disjunct persistence areas intercalated with ephemeral interglacial poleward expansions and admixture at high-latitude (Arctic) contact zones. This study thus supports a role for glaciations not just in redistributing pre-existing marine lineages but also as a speciation pump across multi-glacial cycles for marine organisms otherwise exhibiting cosmopolite amphi-boreal distributions.Pew Foundation (USA); Portuguese FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia) through program GENEKELP [PTDC/MAR-EST/6053/2014]; Portuguese FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia) through program MARFOR [Biodiversa/0004/2015]; Portuguese FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia) [UID/Multi/04326/2013, SFRH/BPD/88935/2012, SFRH/BPD/111003/2015]; NSERC; FRQNT; Canada Foundation for Innovation; New Brunswick Innovation Foundation; European Union's Seventh Framework Programme [226248]; Danish Environmental Protection Agency within the Danish Cooperation for Environment in the Arctic (DANCEA)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chloroplast genomes as a tool to resolve red algal phylogenies: a case study in the Nemaliales

Obtaining strongly supported phylogenies that permit confident taxonomic and evolutionary interpretations has been a challenge in algal biology. High-throughput sequencing has improved the capacity to generate data and yields more informative datasets. We sequenced and analysed the chloroplast genomes of 22 species of the order Nemaliales as a case study in the use of phylogenomics as an approach to achieve well-supported phylogenies of red algae.Australian Research Council/[FT110100585]/ARC/AustraliaAustralian Biological Resources Study/[RFL213-08]/ABRS/AustraliaMillennium Scientific Initiative/[NC120030]/MSI/Nueva JerseyUniversity of Melbourne///AustraliaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR

A song of wind and ice: increased frequency of marine cold-spells in southwestern Patagonia and their possible effects on giant kelp forests

In contrast to other coastal regions of the world, the giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) ecosystem in southwestern Patagonia has been persistent in area and associated biodiversity in the last decades. In this ecoregion, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) records have consistently remained below the upper thermal threshold for kelp survival, however no studies have analysed the spatiotemporal variability of SSTs and their anomalies across the geographical diversity of the southwestern Patagonian coastline. We explored the geographical distribution of extreme warm and cold events in this region from latitudes 47° to 56° S in a range of 1,000 km, identifying the dates and spatial distribution of Marine Heatwaves (MHWs) and Marine Cold-Spells (MCSs) from 1982 to 2020. Results show that a peak in the number of MHWs occurred in the great El Nin˜o year of 1998. Additionally, the 2014-2019 period has had more severe and extreme MCSs than the previous decades. We discuss the origin of these events with a focus on three main processes: 1) geographically constrained cold events caused by glacier melting, 2) regional cold events caused by extreme winds linked to the position of the polar front, and 3) extensive SST anomalies linked to planetary-scale events such as El Nin˜o and La Nin˜a. Overall, those processes were conductive to counteract global warming trends locally/regionally, highlighting southwestern Patagonia as a possible climatic refugium for the giant kelp ecosystem. Despite this, the effects of freshwater inputs and storm turbulence on the exposed coasts facing the Southern Ocean may cause new kinds of stress on this ecosystem

Testing for the induction of anti-herbivory defences in four Portuguese macroalgae by direct and water-borne cues of grazing amphipods

Herbivory is a key factor in regulating plant biomass, thereby driving ecosystem performance. Algae have developed multiple adaptations to cope with grazers, including morphological and chemical defences. In a series of experiments we investigated whether several species of macroalgae possess anti-herbivore defences and whether these could be regulated to demand, i.e. grazing events. The potential of direct grazing on defence induction was assessed for two brown (Dictyopteris membranacea, Fucus vesiculosus) and two red seaweeds (Gelidium sesquipedale, Sphaerococcus coronopifolius) from São Rafael and Ria Formosa, Portugal. Bioassays conducted with live algal pieces and agar-based food containing lipophilic algal extracts were used to detect changes in palatability after exposure to amphipod attacks (=treatment phase). Fucus vesiculosus was the only species significantly reducing palatability in response to direct amphipod-attacks. This pattern was observed in live F. vesiculosus pieces and agar-based food containing a lipophilic extract, suggesting that lipophilic compounds produced during the treatment phase were responsible for the repulsion of grazers. Water-borne cues of grazed F. vesiculosus as well as non-grazing amphipods also reduced palatability of neighbouring conspecifics. However, this effect was only observed in live tissues of F. vesiculosus. This study is the first to show that amphipods, like isopods, are capable to induce anti-herbivory defences in F. vesiculosus and that a seasonally variable effectiveness of chemical defences might serve as a dynamic control in alga–herbivore interactions

A high-resolution global map of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forests and intertidal green algae (Ulvophyceae) with Sentinel-2 imagery

Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is the most widely distributed kelp species on the planet, constituting one of the richest and most productive ecosystems on Earth, but detailed information on its distribution is entirely missing in some marine ecoregions, especially in the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we present an algorithm based on a series of filter thresholds to detect giant kelp employing Sentinel-2 imagery. Given the overlap between the reflectances of giant kelp and intertidal green algae (Ulvophyceae), the latter are also detected on shallow rocky intertidal areas. The kelp filter algorithm was applied separately to vegetation indices, the Floating Algae Index (FAI), the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and a novel formula (the Kelp Difference, KD). Training data from previously surveyed kelp forests and other coastal and ocean features were used to identify reflectance threshold values. This procedure was validated with independent field data collected with UAV imagery at a high spatial resolution and point-georeferenced sites at a low spatial resolution. When comparing UAV with Sentinel data (high-resolution validation), an average overall accuracy ≥ 0.88 and Cohen’s kappa ≥ 0.64 coefficients were found in all three indices for canopies reaching the surface with extensions greater than 1 hectare, with the KD showing the highest average kappa score (0.66). Measurements between previously surveyed georeferenced points and remotely-sensed kelp grid cells (low-resolution validation) showed that 66% of the georeferenced points had grid cells indicating kelp presence within a linear distance of 300 m. We employed the KD in our kelp filter algorithm to estimate the global extent of giant kelp and intertidal green algae per marine ecoregion and province, producing a high-resolution global map of giant kelp and intertidal green algae, powered by Google Earth Engine