Removal of an established invader can change gross primary production of native macroalgae and alter carbon flow in intertidal rock pools.

ABSTRACT: The impact of invasive species on recipient communities can vary with environmental context and across levels of biological complexity. We investigated how an established invasive seaweed species affected the biomass, eco-physiology, carbon and nitrogen storage capacity of native seaweeds at sites with a different environmental setting due to a persistent upwelling in northern Spain. We removed the invasive Japanese wireweed Sargassum muticum from intertidal rock pools once every month during a one-year period and used an in-situ stable isotope pulse-chase labeling to estimate gross primary production (GPP), nitrogen uptake rate, 13C-carbon and 15N-nitrogen storage capacities. Following the addition of 13C-enriched bicarbonate and 15N-enriched nitrate to the seawater in the rock pools duri

SUBMITTER: Rossi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6890258 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature