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Synchrony of frond dynamics among patches of the clonal seaweed Mazzaella parksii (Rhodophyta) at local spatial scale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2004

Ricardo Scrosati
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This study investigated the synchrony of frond dynamics among patches of the intertidal seaweed Mazzaella parksii (=M. cornucopiae; Rhodophyta: Gigartinales) at local spatial scale. At Prasiola Point (Pacific coast of Canada), the mean synchrony of the seasonal changes in frond density among seven permanent, 100-cm2 quadrats was significant (mean Pearson's r=0·73, with 0·65–0·81 as 95% confidence limits) between 1993 and 1995. This indicates that predicting seasonal trends for non-monitored patches at local spatial scale can be done relatively well based on observations on a limited number of quadrats. The identification of the spatial scales at which seaweed populations covary synchronously will permit minimizing sampling effort while retaining the ability to make valid predictions for non-monitored sites.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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