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The Response of Experimental Rocky Shore Communities to Nutrient Additions

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether the experimental nutrient enrichment of littoral rocky shore communities would be followed by a predicted accumulation of fast-growing opportunistic algae and a subsequent loss of perennial benthic vegetation. Inorganic nitrogen (N) and potassium (P) was added to eight concrete mesocosms inhabited by established littoral communities dominated by fucoids. The response to nutrient enrichment was followed for almost 2 1/2 years. Fast-growing opportunistic algae (periphyton and ephemeral green algae) grew significantly faster in response to nutrient enrichment, but the growth of red filamentous algae and large perennial brown algae was unaffected. However, these changes were not followed by comparable changes in the biomass and composition of the macroalgae. The biomass of opportunistic algae was stimulated only marginally by the nutrient enrichment, and perennial brown algae (fucoids) remained dominant in the mesocosm regardless of nutrient treatment level. Established rocky shore communities thus seem able to resist the effects of heavy nutrient loading. We found that the combined effects of the heavy competition for space and light imposed by canopy-forming algae, preferential grazing on opportunistic algae by herbivores, and physical disturbance, succeeded by a marked export of detached opportunistic algae, prevented the fast-growing algae from becoming dominant. However, recruitment studies showed that the opportunistic algae would become dominant when free space was available under conditions of high nutrient loading and low grazing pressure. These results show that established communities of perennial algae and associated fauna in rocky shore environments can prevent or delay the accumulation of bloom-forming opportunistic algae and that the replacement of long-lived macroalgae by opportunistic species at high nutrient loading may be a slow process. Nutrient enrichment may not, in itself, be enough to stimulate structural changes in rocky shore communities.

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Acknowledgements

This is contribution no. 401/11 of the ELOISE programme under the Research DG of the European Commission, of which the EULIT project (contract MAS3-CT97-0153) was part. The project was also supported by the MARICULT/Norsk Hydro Program. We thank Torgeir Bakke and Jon Knutzen for their valuable advice, and we are grateful to all of the participants in the project throughout the 5 years of operation for their contribution. This paper is contribution no. 46 from the Marine Research Station, Solbergstrand, Norway.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), P.O. Box 173, Kjelsaas, N-0411 Oslo, Norway

    Tor L. Bokn, Frithjof E. Moy, Birger Bjerkeng & Kai Sørensen

  2. Grupo de Oceanografia Interdisciplinar, Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados (CSIC-UIB), C/Miquel Marques 21, 07190 Esporles, Spain

    Carlos M. Duarte, Nuria Marba & Cristina Barrón

  3. Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Roskilde University, P.O. Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark

    Morten F. Pedersen & Frank L. Fotel

  4. Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Helsingørsgade 51, DK-3400 Hillerød, Denmark

    Jens Borum

  5. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), P.O. Box 736 Sentrum, N-0105 Oslo, Norway

    Hartvig Christie

  6. Norsk Hydro ASA, Porsgrunn Research Center, P.O. Box 2560, N-3901 Porsgrunn, Norway

    Espen E. Hoell, Marianne Olsen & Knut Arvid Sanderud

  7. Institut für Meereskunde, Abteilung Meeresbotanik, Universität Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20 D-24105, Kiel, Germany

    Silke Engelbert, Rolf Karez & Ulrich Sommer

  8. Marine and Coastal Zone Research Team, ALTERRA, P.O. Box 167, 1790 AD Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands

    Kees Kersting

  9. Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Akademigatan 1, FIN-20500 Turku/Åbo, Finland

    Patrik Kraufvelin

  10. Department of Botany, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Cecilia Lindblad

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  1. Tor L. Bokn
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  2. Carlos M. Duarte
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Correspondence to Tor L. Bokn.

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Bokn, T., Duarte, C., Pedersen, M. et al. The Response of Experimental Rocky Shore Communities to Nutrient Additions . Ecosystems 6, 577–594 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-002-0108-6

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