A new record of kelp Lessonia spicata (Suhr) Santelices in the Sub-Antarctic Channels: implications for the conservation of the "huiro negro" in the Chilean coast

Sebastián Rosenfeld; Fabio Mendez; Martha S Calderon; Francisco Bahamonde; Juan Pablo Rodríguez; Jaime Ojeda; Johanna Marambio; Matthias Gorny; Andrés Mansilla

doi:10.7717/peerj.7610

A new record of kelp Lessonia spicata (Suhr) Santelices in the Sub-Antarctic Channels: implications for the conservation of the "huiro negro" in the Chilean coast

PeerJ. 2019 Sep 19:7:e7610. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7610. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Sebastián Rosenfeld^{1

2}, Fabio Mendez^{1

3}, Martha S Calderon^{1

2

4}, Francisco Bahamonde^{1

5}, Juan Pablo Rodríguez¹, Jaime Ojeda^{1

2

6}, Johanna Marambio^{1

2

7}, Matthias Gorny⁸, Andrés Mansilla^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratorio de Ecosistemas Marinos Antárticos y Subantárticos, Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile.
² Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Santiago, Chile.
³ Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Antárticas y Subantarticas de la Universidad de Magallanes, Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile.
⁴ Instituto de Investigación para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Ceja de Selva, INDES-CES, Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza, Chachapoyas, Peru.
⁵ Departamento de Ciencias y Recursos Naturales de la Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile.
⁶ School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada.
⁷ Science Faculty, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
⁸ OCEANA, Santiago, Chile.

Abstract

The Katalalixar National Reserve (KNR) lies in an isolated marine protected area of Magellan Sub-Antarctic channels, which represent an important area for marine biodiversity and macroalgal conservation. The present study is the first report of the species Lessonia spicata, "huiro negro", in the Magellan Sub-Antarctic channels. This finding has implications for macroalgal biogeography and conservation concerns in the Chilean coast. In the ecological assessments of the KNR in 2018 we found populations of L. spicata, specifically on rocky shores of Torpedo Island and Castillo Channel. The morphological identification and molecular phylogeny based on nuclear (ITS1) sequences revealed that these populations of Lessonia are within the lineage of L. spicata of central Chile. This report increases the species richness of kelps for the Magellan Sub-Antarctic Channels from two to three confirmed species (L. flavicans, L. searlesiana and L. spicata), and it also extends the southern distribution range of L. spicata. This species has high harvest demand and is moving towards southern Chile; thus, these populations should be considered as essential for macroalgal conservation in high latitudes of South America.

Keywords: Biogeography; Conservation; Extension; Kelp; Magellan; Sub-Antarctic.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Chile’s National Council for Research in Science and Technology (CONICYT) FONDECYT Program grant 1180433 to Andrés Mansilla, and the CONICYT-FB001 FONDECYT 3180539 project to Martha S. Calderon. The expedition to the Katalalixar National Reserve was financed by OCEANA Chile. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.