Seasonal Variation in Pilayella Littoralis (Phaeophyceae) and its Consequences as a Food Source for the Amphipod, Gammarus Lawrencianus , in the Intertidal of Newfoundland

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Steele, D. H., Whittick, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1991
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Newfoundland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400053534; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400053534

The brown alga Pilayella littoralis is common and widely distributed in the North Atlantic. In insular Newfoundland it is found year-round in the subtidal, but shows a distinct periodicity in the intertidal where it is a summer annual. Rapid growth begins in May and a maximum biomass is achieved in the summer with plants disappearing by October. Besides seasonal changes in abundance, seasonal changes in reproductive behaviour and calorific values of this alga also occur. Pilayella littoralis is the most abundant consumable alga available to intertidal amphipods in Newfoundland. Newly hatched Gammarus lawrencianus grew faster and matured at a younger age on a diet of summer P. littoralis than on plants collected in the spring. Size at maturity and reproductive output (size of eggs, number of eggs) of maturing females did not vary with the time of collection of Pilayella .