Methods for long term

monitoring of Rhodolith beds

Rafael Riosmena-Rodríguez

Programa de Investigación en Botánica Marina,

Departamento de Biología Marina, UABCS

Timothy M. Lenton, Hywel T.P. Williams, 2013. On the origin of planetary-scale tipping points, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 28; 380-382,

International legal instruments commonly used to

protect, manage and use the environment

Ramsar sites

Fisheries reserves

IUCN NaturalProtected Areas

UNESCO site

European Water Directive

Geoparks

Rhodolith/mäerl beds are living and

dead aggregations of non-geniculate

coralline algae that cover dense and

extensive benthic areas in recent

oceans and are widely represented in

fossil deposits

Rhodolith bed definition

Importance of episodic events like hurricanes???

Aerial/satellite images, sonar bottom profiling, and current/light meters & sediment traps

within and at margins of rhodolith beds

Bed

Sand

► What boundary conditions determine lateral

distribution?

Need bed maps and long term measurements of

water motion, sedimentation and light (?) (extension

of Mitchell & Collins)

Hertzinger et al 2006

Hinojosa-Arengo et al 2014

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1.9

9

2.9

9

3.9

9

4.9

9

7.9

9

8.9

9

9.9

9

11

12

13

1.0

0

2.0

0

3.0

0

4.0

0

6.0

0

8.0

0

3.0

1

5.0

1

6.0

1

8.0

2

Tiempo (meses/años)

Med

ia (

Desv.

Std

.)

Arena

Rodolos10.9

9

11.9

9

12.9

9

Tiempo (mesas/anos)

1999 2000

Canal de San Lorenzo

Knowns - how they are: world-wide distribution, “soft” substrate,

moderate water motion, low sedimentation, depth: light & water motion-sedimentation,

foundation species for a diverse associated flora & fauna

Knowns - what they do: grow slow, important carbonate producers, net

consumers of O2, net producers of dissolved inorganic N, provide heterogeneous

habitat & settlement substrate

Species richness of

each trophic group

Complexity

0

2

4 cm

Predators

Suspension feeders

Detritivores

Micrograzers

P,S,D

Incrementando el espacio vital Grall et al. (2006)

J Exp Mar Biol

Ecol, 338, 1-15

Ecology of Rhodolith Bed Communities (Systems)

► Effects of epiphytes:

Negative: reduce light & survivorship, increase sedimentation?

Positive (facilitative): shade, food for fauna & nutrients for rhodoliths?

Over the last 20 years taxonomic

75 publictions of associated

species have shown the

relevance of the habitat in where

Amphipods, Tunicates, Sponges

are the most studied taxa.

Abundance

1

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

rhodolith bed sand flat

ab

un

dan

ce /

m 2

Richess

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

rhodolith bed sand flat

habitat

sp

ecie

s r

ich

ness

habitat

- Provide nutrients (Martin et al.)

Organic N Inorganic N

Are rhodoliths dependent on inorganic N

in the surrounding ocean?

► What is the relative importance of movement?

Riosmena

Shape &

branching

Prevent

anoxia &

remove

sediment

Fouling

Lithophyllum margaritae

Field movement rates and lengths of time buried?

Biology of Individuals

►How respond to and recover from disturbance (stress)?

Relationship to cell biology & physiology

Observations:

- recovery after bleaching

- pigment may be concentrated on

surface away from stress

- grow & reproduce while buried

in course sediment

- anoxia kills (Hall-Spencer et al., Wilson et al.)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

L. margaritae N. trichotomun

An

nu

al

Gro

wth

Rate

(m

m/y

r)

Species

surface

Steller

Lithophyllum margaritae

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

L. margaritae N. trichotomun

Pro

po

rtio

n M

ate

ria

l R

ep

rod

uc

tive

Species

sur…bur…

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Long

itud

(mm

)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Número de bandas

Lcal= 1.62 + 0.27 (X)

r2= 0.86

P=0.000

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Long

itud

(mm

)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Edad (años)

L = 5.68 + 0.46 (t) r2=0.86 p=0.000

Donde para L. muellerii

la tasa de crecimiento

promedio anual fue de

0.60 mm/año con

individuos de hasta 120

años de antigüedad.

(M. Rivera et al. 2004)

(Steller 2003)

New

growth

Tasa de Crecimiento

L. muellerii 0.6mm/yr

L. margaritae 5.6mm/yr

S. trichtomum 7-8mm/yr

L. margaritae

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

winter summer

season

gro

wth

ra

te (

mm

/ye

ar)

p<0.05

Tasa de crecimiento anual

5.62+1.19mm/year

Seasonal variation (2-4 cm tamańo)

Over the last decade approximately 130

papers related to rhodolith/mäerl ecosystem

has been published in a per

reviewed/indexed journals and is brining

the international attention to this

ecosystem.