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Mabin CJT, Johnson CR, Wright JT
Physiological response to temperature, light, and nitrates in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera from Tasmania, Australia
Tasmanian populations of giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera have undergone severe decline in the last 50 years and are now at ~5% of their previous abundance. This appears to be due to an increase in the frequency and intensity of southerly incursions of warm oligotrophic water from the East Australian Current which is warming eastern Tasmanian waters ~4-times the global average. Mabin and colleagues characterised physiological performance of M. pyrifera juveniles under simulated future environmental conditions. Greatest impacts on performance were from high temperature and light levels, whilst effects of reduced nitrate were small. Ongoing warming is likely to have severe effects on remaining M. pyrifera populations in southeast Australia, placing this endangered habitat and the community it supports at risk.