Density derived estimates of standing crop and net primary production in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera
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Assemblages of macroalgae are believe to be among the most productive ecosystems in the world, yet difficulties in obtaining direct estimates of biomass and primary production have led to few macroalgal data sets from which the consequences of long-term change can be assessed. We evaluated the validity of using two easily measured population variables (frond density and plant density) to estimate the more difficult to measure variables of standing crop and net primary production (NPP) in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera off southern California. Standing crop was much more strongly correlated to frond density than to plant density. Frond density data collected in summer were particularly useful for estimating annual NPP, explaining nearly 80% of the variation in the NPP from year to year. Data on frond densities also provided a relatively good estimate of seasonal NPP for the season that the data were collected. In contrast, estimates of seasonal and annual NPP derived from plant density data were less reliable. These results indicate that data on frond density collected at the proper time of year can make assessments of NPP by giant kelp more tractable. They also suggest that other easily measured variables that are strongly correlated with standing crop, such as surface canopy area, might serve as similarly useful proxies of NPP.Keywords:
Standing crop
Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
Kelp forest
Life span
Brown algae
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Frond
Macrocystis pyrifera
Kelp forest
Dry weight
Lamina
Dry season
Stipe (mycology)
Wet season
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Assemblages of macroalgae are believe to be among the most productive ecosystems in the world, yet difficulties in obtaining direct estimates of biomass and primary production have led to few macroalgal data sets from which the consequences of long-term change can be assessed. We evaluated the validity of using two easily measured population variables (frond density and plant density) to estimate the more difficult to measure variables of standing crop and net primary production (NPP) in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera off southern California. Standing crop was much more strongly correlated to frond density than to plant density. Frond density data collected in summer were particularly useful for estimating annual NPP, explaining nearly 80% of the variation in the NPP from year to year. Data on frond densities also provided a relatively good estimate of seasonal NPP for the season that the data were collected. In contrast, estimates of seasonal and annual NPP derived from plant density data were less reliable. These results indicate that data on frond density collected at the proper time of year can make assessments of NPP by giant kelp more tractable. They also suggest that other easily measured variables that are strongly correlated with standing crop, such as surface canopy area, might serve as similarly useful proxies of NPP.
Standing crop
Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
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Neushul, M. (U. Washington, Seattle.) Studies on the giant kelp, Macrocystis. II. Reproduction. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(4): 354–359. Illus. 1963.—The reproduction of Macrocystis pyrifera was studied in the sea and in the laboratory. The estimated minimum time needed for the completion of the sexual life history of Macrocystis pyrifera in La Jolla, California, is from 12 to 14 months. Young sporophytes begin fruiting when they have from 4 to 8 stipes and a somatic frond weight of from 8 to 10 kg. The behavior of abscised sporophylls in laboratory tanks, as well as their morphology and coloration, strongly suggests an interrelationship between the translocation of photosynthetic products and fructification.
Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
Sporophyte
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Macrocystis pyrifera
Kelp forest
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Morphological relationships among fronds of giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera off La Jolla, California
Giant kelp Macrocystispyrifera is the dominant macrophyte along much of the California coast.Each plant is composed of several fronds, each of which can have more than 100 blades.We have developed equations which describe relationships between size and distance which account for variations in frond size and blade node number The most successful descriptions involve the separation of within-frond patterns from between-frond patterns.One useful within-frond description is the relationsh~p between the area of blade relative to the largest blade on its frond (e.g. a fractional area of 0.1) as a function of its relative position on the frond (e.g. the blade's node posit~on is 0.1 of the total number of nodes from the apex).A useful between-frond description is the relationship between the area of the largest blade on a frond and the frond size.The 2 types of descriptions used together form a compact description of frond morphology that accounts for most of the variability in blade size and position for a range of frond sizes.Similar relationships hold for the distributions of frond lengths within a kelp plant.The morphological relationships are expressed used power series that were fit to the data.The existence of power series relationships describing kelp morphology can be used for modelling studies of such factors as the light field around a plant.
Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
Kelp forest
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Deepened isotherms associated with El Niño resulted in severe nutrient limitation and very low kelp productivity during the last half of 1983. Frond growth rates were so low that terminal blades formed before reaching the surface, eliminating the canopy. Frond initiation rates were also extremely low, resulting in significant reductions in mean plant size. Plants growing above 10 m were more severely affected than plants at 20 m. These results suggest that nutrient pulses associated with internal waves are critical for survival of Macrocystis pyrifera in nutritionally marginal habitats in southern California.
Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
Kelp forest
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N eushul , M. (U. Washington, Seattle.) Studies on the giant kelp, Macrocystis. II. Reproduction. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(4): 354–359. Illus. 1963.—The reproduction of Macrocystis pyrifera was studied in the sea and in the laboratory. The estimated minimum time needed for the completion of the sexual life history of Macrocystis pyrifera in La Jolla, California, is from 12 to 14 months. Young sporophytes begin fruiting when they have from 4 to 8 stipes and a somatic frond weight of from 8 to 10 kg. The behavior of abscised sporophylls in laboratory tanks, as well as their morphology and coloration, strongly suggests an interrelationship between the translocation of photosynthetic products and fructification.
Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
Sporophyte
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This datasheet on Macrocystis pyrifera covers Identity, Overview, Associated Diseases, Pests or Pathogens, Distribution, Dispersal, Environmental Requirements, Impacts, Uses, Management, Economics, Further Information.
Macrocystis pyrifera
Kelp forest
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Macrocystis pyrifera
Frond
Kelp forest
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