Abstract
We tested whether experimentally enhancing nutrients around the kelp Hedophyllum sessile would increase growth, tissue nitrogen, or allocation to phenolic compounds. Packets of time‐released fertilizer were anchored adjacent to fronds in the field, and algae were monitored for several months. Although fertilizer packets increased the concentration of ammonium, nitrate, and phosphorus adjacent to treatment algae by an order of magnitude, there was little evidence that this increased frond growth or size. Hedophyllum individuals showed no tendency to alter allocation patterns in response to nutrient addition. Tissue carbon and nitrogen was unchanged by the nutrient manipulation; most H. sessile had tissue nitrogen concentrations in excess of 2.0% of dry mass. Additionally, the concentration of phloroglucinol equivalents was also unaffected by the presence of increased water column nutrients. Although nutrient concentrations in the water column surrounding the study site show relatively high mean values for ammonium, nitrate, and phosphorus, they are characterized by high spatial and temporal variation. Nonetheless, these data suggest that this intertidal kelp is not limited by nitrogen or phosphorus in wave‐exposed areas in the northeast Pacific Ocean.
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