A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Forecast climate change conditions sustain growth and physiology but hamper reproduction in range-margin populations of a foundation rockweed species




AuthorsEva Rothäusler, Luca Rugiu, Veijo Jormalainen

PublisherElsevier Ltd

Publication year2018

JournalMarine Environmental Research

Journal name in sourceMarine Environmental Research

Volume141

First page 205

Last page213

Number of pages9

ISSN0141-1136

eISSN1879-0291

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.09.014

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/36114222


Abstract

Intensifying environmental changes due to climate change affect marine species worldwide. Herein, we experimentally tested if the combination of forecasted warming and hyposalinity adversely affected growth, receptacle formation, and photosynthesis of three marginal populations of the brown alga Fucus from the northern Baltic Sea. Growth was not impaired by the projected consequences of climate change but genotypes varied in their responses, suggesting existence of genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity. Climate change further prevented receptacle formation, implying that Fucus fail to reproduce sexually. Photosynthesis was not affected by climate change but varied among populations. Our results show that Fucus populations photosynthesized, grew, and survived well under the projected climate change but their sexual reproduction ceased. This suggests that the marginal populations tested herein are resilient to future conditions but only if asexual reproduction enables them to proliferate.


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