Response of Early Life-Stages of Forest-Forming Seaweeds From Warm-Edge and Central Populations to Marine Heatwaves.

ABSTRACT: Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are among the most important threats to forest-forming seaweeds and the ecological functions and services they underpin. Responses of seaweeds to MHWs are likely to vary across life-stages, along their distribution and among populations with differing genetic structure. The effects of MHWs on early life-stages and genetically distinct populations have rarely been tested experimentally. We used germlings and juveniles of the forest-forming fucoid Phyllospora comosa from four genetically distinct populations, two at the warm-edge (31° S) and two at the centre of its latitudinal distribution (34° S) in eastern Australia to examine their responses (i.e., survival, growth, photosynthetic efficiency, condition) to MHWs. Two MHW scenarios were tested: strong (23°C-2

SUBMITTER: Musrri CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12854809 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature