Inter-Research > MEPS > v411 > p33-48  
MEPS
Marine Ecology Progress Series

via Mailchimp

MEPS 411:33-48 (2010)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08644

Ecology of antifouling resistance in the bladder wrack Fucus vesiculosus: patterns of microfouling and antimicrobial protection

M. Wahl1,*, L. Shahnaz1,2, S. Dobretsov1,3, M. Saha1, F. Symanowski1, K. David1, T. Lachnit1, M. Vasel1, F. Weinberger1

1Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Duesternbrookerweg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
2Present address: Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
3Present address: Department of Marine Science and Fisheries, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

ABSTRACT: The impact of moderate environmental stress may be modulated by stress-induced shifts of biotic interactions such as host–epibiont relationships. We studied the stress regime in shallow Western Baltic habitats, the variability of fouling at different temporal and spatial scales, and whether common stressors—low light, high temperature and grazing—affect the abundance and composition of the biofilm on a regionally important macroalga, the bladder wrack Fucus vesiculosus. We further explored the alga’s capacity to chemically modulate the recruitment of microfoulers and analyzed whether this ability is impacted by stress. In laboratory, mesocosm and field experiments, fouling pressure and epibiotic cover on the alga varied strongly with changing environmental conditions such as temperature, irradiance, depth and grazing. The expectation that abiotic stress affects the fouling-modulating ability of the alga and thus indirectly produces the observed variability of epibiosis was not generally confirmed. Indeed, while the strength of chemical antifouling resistance varied seasonally, with a maximum in winter–spring and a minimum in late summer, this could not be related to temporal patterns of environmental stress, fouling pressure, or growth of F. vesiculosus. Only the seasonal variation in reproduction seemed to be in phase with antifouling activity. Controlled experiments confirmed that resistance strength was not affected by temperature or grazing, and only moderately by light. We conclude that the fouling modulation ability of F. vesiculosus may suffer from light reduction (e.g. by eutrophication effects), but is not sensitive to predicted warming or enhanced grazing.


KEY WORDS: Marine algae · Stress · Epibiosis · Fouling modulation · Interacting stressors · Fucus vesiculosus


Full text in pdf format
Supplementary material
Cite this article as: Wahl M, Shahnaz L, Dobretsov S, Saha M and others (2010) Ecology of antifouling resistance in the bladder wrack Fucus vesiculosus: patterns of microfouling and antimicrobial protection. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 411:33-48. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08644

Export citation
Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn

 Previous article Next article