S. Kawamata, Adaptive mechanical tolerance and dislodgement velocity of the kelp Laminaria japonica in wave-induced water motion, MAR ECOL-PR, 211, 2001, pp. 89-104
Adaptive mechanical tolerance of Laminaria japonica to water motion was exa
mined by field transplant and laboratory flow-tank experiments. L. japonica
attaching to plastic plates were obtained at mid-water platforms sheltered
from and moderately exposed to wave action. The environmental water veloci
ties were determined during the cultivation period and transplant experimen
t using ultrasonic flow meters and available offshore wave height records.
When transplanted to 3 depth sites with different intensities of wave-induc
ed water motion, almost all the 'sheltered' plants were dislodged from the
plastic plates by waves within 5 d, while most of the 'exposed' ones remain
ed attached even at the shallowest depth 72 d after transplantation. This d
ifference in mechanical tolerance was quantified by a flow-tank experiment
conducted in sinusoidal oscillatory flows: 50 % of the 'sheltered' plants w
ere dislodged at a velocity amplitude of 0.8 to 0.9 m s(-1), while all of t
he 'exposed' plants persisted even at 1.1 m s(-1). The maximum water veloci
ties encountered by the transplants were estimated using ultrasonic flow me
ter records and the period-averaged water speeds, which were determined by
correlating water velocity with decreased mass of gypsum blocks. These esti
mates coupled with the observed survivorships at the transplant sites were
consistent with the results of the now-tank experiment. Attachment strength
increased significantly as the holdfast grew for the 'exposed' plants but
was constant for the 'sheltered' ones. In addition, the 'sheltered' plants
had a short, wide, undulated blade which resulted in higher drag while the
'exposed' plants had a long, narrow, flat blade and thereby lower drag. Des
pite the marked difference in tolerance to water motion, the frequency dist
ribution of the root-mean-square water velocity experienced by plants durin
g the growth period was only 0.05 m s(-1) higher at the exposed culture sta
tion than at the sheltered one, suggesting the presence of a critical veloc
ity in developing the adaptive mechanical tolerance. The observed dislodgem
ent velocity for the 'sheltered' plants was considerably lower than predict
ed from general hydrodynamic theories describing attachment strength of a t
hallus stretched out in the direction of flow. This indicates that detailed
dynamic behaviors of plants should be explored to predict the wave-induced
mechanical failure in large, flexible algae such as L, japonica.