A comparison of physiological responses between attached and pelagic populations of Sargassum horneri under nutrient and light limitation

Menglin Bao; Ji-Sook Park; Hailong Wu; Hyuk Je Lee; Sang Rul Park; Tae-Hoon Kim; Young Baek Son; Tae Hee Lee; Charles Yarish; Jang K Kim

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105544

A comparison of physiological responses between attached and pelagic populations of Sargassum horneri under nutrient and light limitation

Mar Environ Res. 2022 Jan:173:105544. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105544. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Authors

Menglin Bao¹, Ji-Sook Park², Hailong Wu³, Hyuk Je Lee⁴, Sang Rul Park⁵, Tae-Hoon Kim⁶, Young Baek Son⁷, Tae Hee Lee⁷, Charles Yarish⁸, Jang K Kim⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Marine Science, Incheon National University, Incheon, 22012, South Korea.
² Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Incheon National University, Incheon, 22012, South Korea.
³ Jiangsu Institute of Marine Resources Development, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, China.
⁴ Department of Biological Science, Sangji University, Wonju, 26339, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Marine Life Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea.
⁶ Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, South Korea.
⁷ Jeju Marine Research Section, Korean Institute of Ocean Science & Technology, Jeju, 63349, South Korea.
⁸ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, 06901, USA.
⁹ Department of Marine Science, Incheon National University, Incheon, 22012, South Korea; Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Incheon National University, Incheon, 22012, South Korea. Electronic address: jang.kim@inu.ac.kr.

PMID: 34953362
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105544

Abstract

Large-scale Sargassum blooms have been increasingly observed in coastal zones in recent years. Sargassum horneri (Turner) C. Agardh blooms (pelagic) have been observed in Jeju Island (Korea) and the southwest of the Korean Peninsula, causing serious problems for seaweed and abalone farms as well as for fisheries, tourism and recreational industries. The present study explored the physiological responses of attached and pelagic S. horneri populations cultivated under different nutrient concentrations (HN: 50 μM of nitrogen and 5 μM of phosphorus; LN: 5 μM of nitrogen and 0.5 μM of phosphorus) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (H-PAR: 250; M-PAR: 150; L-PAR: 50 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1) for 25 days. Relative growth rates (RGR) were significantly lower in the pelagic population than that in the attached population. All thalli from the pelagic population died within 20 days. Chlorophyll a and c, and carotenoids were significantly higher at HN than at LN, and decreased as PAR increased for both populations. For the attached population, photosynthetic rate, tissue nitrogen, and carbon and nitrogen removal were also significantly higher at HN than at LN. These results suggest that high nutrient and lower PAR increased the biomass accumulation of attached populations in coastal areas. Nutrient limitation and high PAR may accelerate senescence of the pelagic populations while traveling on the sea surface from their point of origin.

Keywords: Nutrients; Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR); Sargassum horneri; Seaweed bloom.

MeSH terms

Chlorophyll A
Fisheries
Nutrients
Sargassum*
Seaweed*

Substances

Chlorophyll A