4.5 Article

Benthic metabolism on a sheltered rocky shore:: Role of the canopy in the carbon budget

Journal

JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
Volume 44, Issue 5, Pages 1146-1153

Publisher

WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2008.00569.x

Keywords

Ascophyllum nodosum; carbon dioxide; carbon fluxes; emersion; macroalgae; production; respiration

Funding

  1. BIOFUSE project
  2. MarBEF network of Excellence

Ask authors/readers for more resources

While the importance of canopy-forming algae in structuring ecosystems is recognized, their role in the carbon budget is still not well understood. To our knowledge, no measurements of rocky shores primary production and respiration under emersion periods have been carried out in situ. A benthic chamber coupled to a CO2-infrared gas analyzer was used to measure gross primary production and respiration on the Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jol. zone of a sheltered rocky shore in Brittany, France. Over a year of monthly measurements on the zone with and without the A. nodosum canopy showed fairly high production and respiration values for the global community as well as carbon fluxes due to the canopy that largely dominated the benthic metabolism of the zone. The strong canopy respiration relative to the primary production also suggested a high metabolic activity by microscopic heterotrophs on the surface of the alga. Both the canopy and the understory annual primary production and respiration were under the control of light and temperature seasonal variations. Finally, the range of the amount of carbon produced on the A. nodosum zone during diurnal emersions was estimated. Additional measures accounting for the day-night cycles and seasonal light variations over an entire tidal cycle are, however, necessary to establish an annual carbon budget. Such measures using the benthic chamber together with complementary techniques would allow a better understanding of the functioning of sheltered rocky shores.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.5
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available