Invasive Fucus serratus (Fucaceae, Phaeophyceae) responds to climate change along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia, Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Garbary ◽  
Megan P. Fass ◽  
Herb Vandermeulen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Dispersal Capacity ◽  
Corallina Officinalis ◽  
Fucus Serratus ◽  
Shallow Subtidal ◽  
South Shore ◽  
Distribution And Ecology

Abstract The distribution and ecology of the invasive brown alga Fucus serratus along the 500 km Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, has been poorly explored. We observed significant intertidal penetration at four sites in the southwestern part of the province, and then examined numerous sites along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. Surveys of attached algae in intertidal and shallow subtidal zones and wrack show that F. serratus has become a dominant plant in the low to mid-intertidal zone and can be expected on headlands along the South Shore of Nova Scotia where it can occupy up to 40% of the intertidal zone with cover >75% and mean densities of up to 10 kg m−1. In this zone, F. serratus has replaced Chondrus crispus as the major canopy species, although C. crispus and Corallina officinalis remain primary understory species. At slightly higher elevations, F. serratus was common as an understory beneath Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosus. While geographic spread along the Atlantic coast might reflect the natural dispersal capacity of F. serratus, we hypothesize that the ecological extension into the intertidal zone may be facilitated by harvesting of A. nodosum and by climate change in an ocean-warming hotspot.

scholarly journals Subarctic shores without an ice foot: Low extremes in intertidal temperature during winter

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Augusto Scrosati
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Minimum Temperature ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Freezing Point ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Daily Minimum Temperature ◽  
Absolute Minimum ◽  
Daily Minimum ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Intertidal Habitats

On marine shores that freeze in winter, the intertidal zone becomes covered by an ice foot. Stable ice foots insulate intertidal organisms against highly negative air temperatures. On subpolar intertidal habitats that do not freeze, the periodic inundation with seawater at temperatures near its freezing point also prevents benthic organisms from experiencing highly negative temperatures. However, low tides do expose ice-free intertidal habitats to aerial conditions, but information on how negative temperature gets there during the winter is lacking. Using data loggers, this study measured the daily lowest temperature in rocky intertidal habitats on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada (which does not freeze), during the winter. As a control, temperature was also monitored above the intertidal zone (on tree branches). Intertidal temperature was almost as low as supratidal temperature, as the seasonal averages of daily minimum temperature were -4.2 °C and -6.4 °C (with absolute minima of -14.1 °C and -19.1 °C), respectively. The study site on the Atlantic coast is climatically similar to a site surveyed on the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast of Nova Scotia. However, the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast, which freezes in winter, showed milder intertidal temperatures, with a winter average of daily minimum temperature of -1.9 °C and an absolute minimum of only -6.8 °C. Therefore, despite tidal influences, the absence of an ice foot exposes subpolar intertidal habitats to highly negative air temperatures.

scholarly journals Thermal stress resistance of the brown alga Fucus serratus along the North-Atlantic coast: Acclimatization potential to climate change

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Jueterbock ◽  
Spyros Kollias ◽  
Irina Smolina ◽  
Jorge M.O. Fernandes ◽  
James A. Coyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Thermal Stress ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Stress Resistance ◽  
Brown Alga ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
Fucus Serratus ◽  
The North Atlantic

Intertidal Breeding and Aerial Development of Embryos of a Stickleback Fish (Gasterosteus)

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (15-16) ◽  
pp. 1183-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.M. Blouw ◽  
J.F. Macdonald ◽  
S.M. Macisaac ◽  
J. Bekkers
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Filamentous Algae ◽  
Organic Detritus ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
Intertidal Zones ◽  
Shallow Subtidal

AbstractMales of the newly discovered 'white' stickleback disperse their embryos over the filamentous algae in which they nest and, unlike any other stickleback, they provide no subsequent parental care. Previously known populations of white sticklebacks nest only in shallow subtidal waters where filamentous algae are abundant. Our purpose in this paper is to describe highly divergent populations at Spry Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, in which males build nests on bare rock in the subtidal and intertidal zones, and disperse their embryos over bare rock. Intertidal embryos are exposed to air and are vulnerable to desiccation at low tide. Field studies reveal that nests are built from locally available materials directly on the rock substrate. They are constructed very quickly and tend to be less substantial than subtidal nests. Internest distances are shorter in the intertidal zone than in adjacent subtidal areas. Dispersed intertidal embryos tend to settle into crevices between stones where the microenvironment remains moist and temperate between tides due to the presence of organic detritus and shade. Such embryos survive, develop, and hatch. Similar behaviours occur at other sites in Nova Scotia, and we know that it has persisted for at least four years at Spry Bay. We conclude that breeding and dispersing embryos over bare rock substrate, and intertidal breeding, are novel but stable breeding repertoires. We hypothesize that they have evolved secondarily to the evolution of emancipation from parental care in the white stickleback.

Impact of climate change on soil moisture condition in Nova Scotia

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raheleh Malekian ◽  
Robert Gordon ◽  
Ali Madani ASABE Member ◽  
Seyyed Ebrahim Hashemi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Moisture Condition ◽  
Soil Moisture Condition ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change

scholarly journals LATE BLOOMING OF PLANTS FROM NORTHERN NOVA SCOTIA: RESPONSES TO A MILD FALL AND WINTER

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Garbary ◽  
Jonathan Ferrier ◽  
Barry R. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Flowering Date ◽  
Cornus Sericea ◽  
Allium Schoenoprasum ◽  
Herbaceous Dicots

Over 1400 flowering records of 135 species were recorded from over 125visits to more than 20 sites in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia from November2005 to January 2006, when the growing season is normally over. The speciesidentified were primarily herbaceous dicots; however, there were four speciesof woody plants (Cornus sericea, Spiraea latifolia, Symphoricarpos albusand Salix sp.) and one monocot (Allium schoenoprasum). The number ofspecies flowering declined linearly as fall progressed, as did the amountof flowering for each species. Nevertheless, over 40 species were still inflower in early December, and over 20 species flowered in January. Thefinal flowering date was 21 January, when ten species were found. Thiswork builds on a previous study in 2001, when 93 species were recordedin flower during November-December. In addition to the 30% increase inrecorded species in 2005, almost 50% of the species found in 2005 werenot recorded in 2001. This study provides an expanded baseline againstwhich changes in flowering phenology can be evaluated with respect tosubsequent regional climate change.Key Words: Antigonish, flowering, Nova Scotia, phenology, climate change

Marked contrast in wind-driven upwelling on the southeastern Nova Scotia coast in July of two years differing in ENSO conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo A. Scrosati ◽  
Julius A. Ellrich
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Recent Book ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Marked Contrast ◽  
The World

AbstractUpwelling occurs on several coasts of the world, but it has mostly been studied on eastern ocean boundaries. We investigated upwelling on a western ocean boundary for which limited information exists. Using daily in-situ data on sea surface temperature (SST), we found a marked contrast in coastal cooling between July 2014 (pronounced) and July 2015 (weak) at two locations 110 km apart on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. These findings are consistent with a marked interannual difference in wind-driven upwelling. On the one hand, southwesterlies (which cause upwelling on this coast) were more frequent in July 2014 than in July 2015. On the other hand, Bakun’s upwelling index (which is based on wind data and geographic information) indicated that coastal upwelling was more common and intense in July 2014 than in July 2015, while the reverse was true for downwelling. Interestingly, a strong El Niño event occurred in July 2015, while no El Niño (or La Niña) conditions happened in July 2014. In a recent book evaluating upwelling systems around the world, the system that is the focus of the present study was not included. Therefore, our findings should stimulate future research on upwelling on the Atlantic Canadian coast, in that way helping to further develop the knowledge base for western ocean boundaries.

Vertical zonation of the hydroid Dynamena crisioides (Hydrozoa, Sertulariidae) in a mangrove ecosystem at Twin Cays, Belize

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 2993-2999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale R. Calder
Keyword(s):  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Prime Factor ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Mangrove Ecosystem ◽  
Lower Half ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
Shallow Subtidal ◽  
Lower Limits ◽  
Transplantation Experiments ◽  
Number Of Branches

Dynamena crisioides is generally restricted to lower intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats along tropical and subtropical coasts. The hydroid was abundant during this study on prop roots of red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) at Twin Cays, Belize, where it ranged vertically from 1.1 m below mean tide level (MTL) to 2–3 cm above MTL. The estimated percentage cover of the hydroid was maximal in the lower half of the intertidal zone (MTL and 0.1 m below MTL) and declined rapidly above and below that level. Colony height and number of branches per colony were also consistently highest in hydroids from the lower half of the intertidal zone. The percentage of colonies with gonophores was lowest at the lower and upper vertical limits of the species. Field observations and transplantation experiments suggest that the lower limits of D. crisioides are established by competition for space (with algae, sponges, and ascidians), smothering (by algae, sponges, ascidians, and other hydroids), and predation (by fishes). Desiccation was considered the prime factor determining the upper limits of the hydroid. Colonies transplanted to the supratidal zone were in good condition after 24 h, alive but in poor condition after 48 h, and dead after 72 and 96 h of exposure.

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