Turnover Dynamics Of The Giant Kelp Macrocystis Pyrifera

Download or read book Turnover Dynamics of the Giant Kelp, Macrocystis Pyrifera written by Gabriel Eduardo Rodriguez and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I found that the natural course of progressive senescence in fronds can explain much of the variability in frond loss throughout a typical year in a Santa Barbara kelp bed, that kelp blades that have more access to light have shorter lifetimes (as predicted by leaf lifespan theory), and that ignoring the sub-lethal blade area losses can result in significant underestimates of net primary productivity. I believe that internal regulation of tissue turnover is an important mechanism by which giant kelp maximizes carbon gain in a changing environment and that adaptations that increase photosynthetic efficiency may be an important factor in the widespread success and dominance of Macrocystis.