Ms Cody James1, Cayne Layton1, Catriona L. Hurd1, Damon Britton1
1Institute For Marine And Antarctic Studies, Battery Point, Australia
Kelp forests are the foundation of Australia’s Great Southern Reef and create food and shelter for various marine organisms. In Australia, as well as globally, kelp forests are declining due to the direct and indirect effects of climate change, and one main driver of kelp decline is rising seawater temperatures. Lessonia corrugata is an endemic Tasmanian kelp that forms dense shallow, subtidal forests, but despite being an important habitat forming species it is relatively unstudied. Importantly, we know little about its thermal tolerance and the temperature conditions necessary for optimal performance. We investigated the performance of L. corrugata at 7 temperatures (4, 7, 10, 14, 17, 20 and 22°C) to construct thermal performance curves (TPCs). We further explored how inorganic nitrogen influences thermal performance and assessed other physiological traits including carbon to nitrogen ratio, fatty acid contents, antioxidants, and pigments. Through understanding a species thermal tolerance, we can predict whether increases in temperature may push species beyond their limits and improve our understanding of their vulnerability to a warming climate. This is especially important for the Great Southern Reef, which is both a global hotspot of macroalgae and temperate biodiversity, but also a hotspot of global ocean warming.
Presentation Slides – Cody James
Biography:
Cody James is a Masters student at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. Cody’s research has focused on exploring the temperature tolerance of an endemic Tasmanian kelp, Lessonia corrugata.
