Characteristics of the Ascophyllum nodosum stands and their associated diversity along the coast of Brittany, France

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Golléty, Claire, Thiébaut, Éric, Davoult, Dominique
• Other Authors: Adaptation et diversité en milieu marin (AD2M), Station biologique de Roscoff Roscoff (SBR), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), DIVersité et COnnectivité dans le paysage marin côtier (DIVCO), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Station biologique de Roscoff Roscoff (SBR), Ecogéochimie et Fonctionnement des Ecosystèmes Benthiques (EFEB), Brittany region
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2011
• Subjects: Ascophyllum nodosum; biomass; density; lengths; rocky shores; species richness; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01218845; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315410000901

International audience The present study aimed at estimating the characteristics of the Ascophyllum nodosum stands along the coast of Brittany, France. Although both an ecologically and economically important macroalga on sheltered rocky shores of the North Atlantic, no study has simultaneously dealt with the variability of the densities, lengths and biomasses of A. nodosum together with a description of its associated algal and animal diversity. There were significant differences in mean lengths and variations in the length-population structures between sites. However, the biomasses and densities showed no significant differences. The biomasses are amongst the highest ones estimated over the entire species distribution. The algal and animal assemblages were typical of A. nodosum zones, but only the identity composition of the algal communities seemed to reflect site differences in environmental forces. The biomasses measured in the present study should help improve future macroalgae biomass and metabolism estimates on regional or global scales. Finally, the data will provide a reference state for future studies on the responses of fucoid canopies to environmental changes.