Borealis
Ferrario, Filippo
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2021-10-05
The study investigated if seascape heterogeneity creates areas of lower grazing risk (i.e. refugia from green sea urchin Strognylochentrotus droebachiensis) for kelp transplanted onto artificial reef modules and characterized the properties that define them.
An area of heterogeneous bottom (mix of hard and soft substrate) of 256 meter square at a depth of 10 meter was identified and delimited using 4 permanent reference transects defining a grid of 64 2x2 meters cells. Each cell was divided in 4 equal parcels (i.e. total of 256 parcels). One individual plant of kelp Alaria esculenta was transplanted on each of 18 cement blocks randomly deployed in the grid.
The survival of kelp was followed at different times between August and October 2015.
The study area was mapped to describe the bottom composition of eac parcel at the beginning of the study, while biological variable were mapped at each kelp survival follow-up time.
A kelp frame was deployed nearby the studi site to control for kelp mortality related to transplantation techniques.
The study was conducted in the late summer 2015 at Baie-du-petit-Métis (48°40'37.30" N, 68° 0'41.24" W; Québec, Canada).
Please refer to the paper for further information on methods.