Kelp Lessonia Nigrescens Research Articles

Network properties and keystoneness assessment in different intertidal communities dominated by two ecosystem engineer species (SE Pacific coast): A comparative analysis

Multispecies quantitative and qualitative models of the kelp Lessonia nigrescens and the tunicate Pyura praeputialis were constructed for intertidal areas of northern Chile (SE Pacific). Information on biomass, P/B ratios, catches, food spectrum, consumption and dynamics of commercial and non-commercial species was obtained and examined using Ecopath with Ecosim and Loop Analysis theoretical frameworks. The biomass of L. nigrescens and P. praeputialis constituted the most important compartments, exceeding 97% of the total biomass in each model system. Based on Pp/R, the system of P. praeputialis appeared to be the most developed. However, according to Pp/B, A/C, Ai/Ci, and redundancy, the L. nigrescens system was the most developed and, in turn, the least resistant to disturbances. The results obtained using mixed trophic impacts (MTI), Ecosim simulations, and system recovery time (SRT) showed different response patterns. The tunicate species propagated higher effects on the remaining species, whereas the kelp species presented the longest SRT (as a resilience measure). The model keystone species indices suggested that each model system contained a core of ecologically related species. In the L. nigrescens system, core was made up of the filter feeders Semimytilus algosus, barnacles, and small epifauna herbivores (SEH) and the predators Concholepas concholepas and Heliaster helianthus. In the P. praeputialis system, the core consisted of phyoplankton, zooplankton, other filter feeders and the predators C. concholepas, H. helianthus, other starfish, and large epifauna. The outcomes obtained in the current work did not indicate that the alien tunicate P. praeputialis was a better or superior bio-engineer when compared to the system constructed by the kelp L. nigrescens. Rather, each species was relevant and relied on different ecological mechanisms.

SEX RATIO VARIATION IN THE LESSONIA NIGRESCENS COMPLEX (LAMINARIALES, PHAEOPHYCEAE): EFFECT OF LATITUDE, TEMPERATURE, AND MARGINALITY(1).

Little is known about variation of sex ratio, the proportion of males to females, in natural populations of seaweed, though it is a major determinant of the mating system. The observation of sexual chromosomes in kelps suggested that sex is partly genetically determined. However, it is probably not purely genetic since the sex ratio can be modified by environmental factors such as salinity or temperature. In this paper, sex ratio variation was studied in the kelp Lessonia nigrescens Bory complex, recently identified as two cryptic species occurring along the Chilean coast: one located north and the other south of the biogeographic boundary at latitude 29°-30° S. The life cycle of L. nigrescens is characterized by an alternation of microscopic haploid gametophytic individuals and large macroscopic fronds of diploid sporophytes. The sex ratio was recorded in progenies from 241 sporophytic individuals collected from 13 populations distributed along the Chilean coast in order (i) to examine the effect of an environmental gradient coupled with latitude, and (ii) to compare marginal populations to central populations of the two species. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that the sex ratios of the two cryptic species would be affected differently by temperature. First, our results demonstrate that sex ratio seems to be mainly genetically determined and temperature can significantly modify it. Populations of the northern species showed a lower frequency of males at 14°C than at 10°C, whereas populations of the southern species showed the opposite pattern. Second, both species displayed an increased variation in sex ratio at the range limits. This greater variation at the margins could be due either to differential mortality between sexes or to geographic parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction).

Induction of phlorotannins during UV exposure mitigates inhibition of photosynthesis and DNA damage in the kelp Lessonia nigrescens.

Phlorotannins of brown algae are multifunctional compounds with putative roles in herbivore deterrence, antioxidation and as primary cell wall components. Due to their peripheral localization and absorption at short wavelengths, a photoprotective role is suggested. We examined the induction of phlorotannins by artificial UV radiation in the intertidal kelp Lessonia nigrescens and whether they attenuate the inhibition of photosynthesis and DNA damage, two major detrimental effects of UV. The soluble and cell wall-bound fractions of phlorotannins were quantified in blades collected in summer and winter. Major findings were that (1) the synthesis of phlorotannins (both forms) was induced by UV only in summer; (2) the induction was fast (within 3 days); and (3) there was a positive relationship between of the contents of insoluble phlorotannins and the suppression of photoinhibition and DNA damage, measured as formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and 6-4 photoproducts. Overall, the photoprotective role of phlorotannins appears to respond to an interplay between the external UV stimulus, seasonal acclimation and intrinsic morpho-functional processes. In summer, when algae are naturally exposed to high UV irradiances, soluble phlorotannins are induced, while their transition to insoluble phlorotannins could be related with the growth requirements, as active blade elongation occurs during this season.

Phylogeographic analyses of the 30 degrees S south-east Pacific biogeographic transition zone establish the occurrence of a sharp genetic discontinuity in the kelp Lessonia nigrescens: vicariance or parapatry?

Phylogeographic studies are lacking in the Southern Hemisphere, and in particular in the south-eastern Pacific. To infer the possible scenario for the debated biogeographic transition zone located at 30-33 degrees S along the Chilean coast, we investigated whether there is a concordance between the phylogeographic pattern and the biogeographic transition in the intertidal kelp Lessonia nigrescens whose distribution is continuous across this transition zone. Using a combination of four makers located in the three genomic compartments (chloroplast, mitochondria and nucleus), we showed the presence of two main divergent lineages, possibly cryptic species. There was an exact match of the phylogeographic break with the 30 degrees S biogeographic transition zone, suggesting a common origin. The combined information given by the multilocus approach and by the population analysis suggested the occurrence of a budding speciation, with a northward range expansion.

Differential responses to copper-induced oxidative stress in the marine macroalgae Lessonia nigrescens and Scytosiphon lomentaria (Phaeophyceae)

In order to help explain the absence of the brown kelp Lessonia nigrescens from a coastal environment chronically enriched with copper, we characterized the biochemical responses induced by copper stress in this kelp and compared them with those displayed by the copper tolerant brown alga Scytosiphon lomentaria. These algae were cultivated with increasing concentrations of copper (20, 40 and 100 μg L −1) for 96 h and the temporal production of hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anions and lipoperoxides as well as the activities of antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GP), ascorbate peroxidase (AP), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) and glutathione reductase (GR) and the activity of the defense enzyme lipoxygenase (LOX) were determined. In L. nigrescens and S. lomentaria, a single peak of hydrogen peroxide was detected, with similar maxima after 3 h of copper exposure, although in L. nigrescens buffering took longer. Superoxide anions, on the other hand, were only detected in L. nigrescens. The production of lipoperoxides in L. nigrescens increased steadily at higher copper levels, in a pattern clearly different to their rapid stabilization in S. lomentaria. We suggest that the accumulation of lipoperoxides might be related to LOX, whose activity also increases with exposure time. Furthermore, activities of the antioxidant enzymes CAT, GP, AP and DHAR were lower in L. nigrescens than in S. lomentaria, and GP and DHAR were completely inhibited at higher copper concentrations. Since these enzymes also detoxify fatty acid hydroperoxides, their inhibition, together with the activation of LOX, may explain the persistent and copper-dependent levels of lipoperoxides in L. nigrescens. Based on terrestrial plant models demonstrating toxic effects of lipoperoxides, and on our results on organellar ultrastructural changes, we suggest that copper toxicity induced an uncontrolled lipoperoxide accumulation which may lead to cell damage and dysfunction in L. nigrescens, explaining at least partially, the absence of this kelp in a copper-enriched coastal environment.

Development and characterization of nine polymorphic microsatellite markers in the Chilean kelp Lessonia nigrescens

A total of nine microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized in the Chilean kelp Lessonia nigrescens Bory. Using two different enriched libraries, we observed 1-14 alleles per locus in two samples of 21 kelp individuals each. The observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.05 to 0.80 and all loci are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for one or both samples. Seventeen samples collected from different sites showed high allele diversity along the species distribution. The variation detected at these markers is currently being used for the study of populations of Lessonia nigrescens at different geographical scales.

Roles of larval behaviour and microhabitat traits in determining spatial aggregations in the ascidian Pyura chilensis

The large edible ascidian Pyura chilensis Molina, 1782 is a sessile suspension feeder that occurs in intertidal and subtidal habitats along the Chilean and Peruvian coasts. In these habi- tats the species, although solitary, is commonly found in highly aggregated assemblages and is sel- dom isolated. The results of a study to determine whether the observed field aggregations could be explained by larval behaviour, microhabitat with quiescent hydrodynamics, or both, are reported. Our laboratory experiments showed that P. chilensis larvae have a short pre-settlement period when maintained in the presence of artificial substratum conditioned with adult conspecific extract. More- over, P. chilensis larvae tended to settle in shaded areas. In the control treatment without con- specifics, or in illuminated areas, low numbers of P. chilensis settlers were found. In a 5-armed radial maze, under still water and low seawater flow regimens, larvae of P. chilensis tended to swim toward and settle in chambers that contained water in which conspecific adults had been placed. In the field, we tested the hypothesis that larval settlement in P. chilensis differs depending on microhabitat traits such as water flow, mechanical disturbance and light intensity. We conducted quadrat sampling on low rocky platforms in contrasting microhabitats, such as around holdfasts of the kelp Lessonia nigrescens, kelp whiplash zones and between holdfasts. The majority of P. chilensis settlers were found on top of conspecific adults inhabiting shaded microhabitats and around kelp holdfasts. These results suggest that protected habitats and chemical cue-mediated larval response to waterborne conspecifics during the settlement period contribute to the formation of intertidal and shallow subti- dal aggregations of P. chilensis. Given that the edible ascidian P. chilensis supports an important small-scale fishery and hosts an important associated community of macro- and micro-invertebrates, we suggest that our results should be considered when determining fisheries regulatory and management practices for this species.

Effects of copper on early developmental stages of Lessonia nigrescens Bory (Phaeophyceae).

Copper effects on the early developmental gametophytic and sporophytic stages of the kelp Lessonia nigrescens were tested in gradients of increasing concentrations of ASV-labile copper. The results demonstrated a high sensitivity to copper of all life-history stages of the alga, where even the lowest tested concentration affected spore release as well as their subsequent settlement. More significant, concentrations higher than 7.87 microg L(-1) totally interrupted the development of the spores after they settle. This effect led to a failure in the formation of male and female gametophytes and, as a consequence, to a complete disruption of the normal life cycle of the kelp. Thus, we suggest that the absence of L. nigrescens from copper-enriched environments results from the high sensitivity of its early life cycle stages, which limits growth and maturation of the gametophytic microscopic phase and, as a consequence, prevents development of the macroscopic sporophytic phase.

The Humboldt-El Niño scenario: coastal benthic resources and anthropogenic influences, with particular reference to the 1982/83 ENSO

The coastal waters of Peru and Chile are among the most productive of the world's oceans. A striking source of interannual variability in this upwelling ecosystem, El Nino, results in large population and community variations. During El Nino the seasonal upwelling ceases and warm, clear oceanic waters occur close inshore, setting a unique oceanographic scenario in which the performance of populations and communities can be studied. While most attention has been focused on the pelagic components of such systems, numerous changes occur in inshore, benthic populations. Likewise, little attention has been paid to the critical role of humans as predators or active users of inshore, benthic resources. Humans as components of the ecosystem can impose significant alterations on population and community structure. In this paper the fishery statistics of three economically important inshore, benthic resources (the gastropod Concholepas concholepas, the cephalopod Octopus vulgaris and the kelp Lessonia nigrescens) a...

Determination of the distribution and abundance of the limpet Scurria scurra on the stipes of the kelp Lessonia nigrescens in Central Chile

Determination of the distribution and abundance of the limpet Scurria scurra on the stipes of the kelp Lessonia nigrescens in Central Chile