Resilience of Cystoseira beds: lack of canopy effects on recruitment

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of the presence of an adult canopy on the recruitment of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira brachycarpa var. balearica, in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. To achieve this objective, a field experiment was performed and recruitment was estimated both in the middle and at the edge of cleared patches, as well as within the bed, on ceramic tiles anchored to the rocky substrate. At the end of the study, neither the number nor the heights of Cystoseira thalli were significantly different among the positions, suggesting that there were no facilitating or inhibiting effects on recruitment.