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A theoretical examination of environmental effects on the life cycle schedule and range limits of the invasive seaweed Undaria pinnatifida

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Abstract

Invasive macroalgae form a substantial component of marine invaders at a global level. However, it is poorly understood how the complex interactions between local environmental conditions and life cycle dynamics contribute to invasion success from a mechanistic viewpoint. The aim of this study was to use a model (UndariaGEN) that incorporates a detailed representation of the individual heteromorphic life history stages (sporophytes and gametophytes) of the species in order to explore how interactions between these components contribute to the overall population dynamics. The latest version of the model was validated against field data from a real-life population in Brittany, France. This was followed by an assessment of the role of temperature limitations in determining its potential global range and then a more detailed examination of how environmental factors affect the life cycle dynamics of U. pinnatifida across a range of conditions characteristic of European populations. In terms of both relative abundance and recruitment, the model matches closely the patterns observed from field studies in Brittany, France (R2 = 0.98 respectively). Furthermore, the model predicted theoretical temperature limits for growth (9.1–22.5 °C) match closely the actual current global range limits for the species (9.5–22.4 °C) reported in the literature. In addition, the size of the species’ ecological niche is shown to be directly related to the amplitude in seasonal variation of temperature. This demonstrates that U. pinnatifida has a wider ecological niche in conditions of high seasonality; this finding is consistent with theories that propose the heteromorphic life cycle may have evolved as an optimal growth strategy for highly seasonal environments.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by an Irish Research Council ELEVATE international career development fellowship, co-funded by Marie Curie Actions under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme. The field data presented here, which were collected in Brest, were obtained as part of the Ph.D. thesis of Marie Voisin who benefitted from a Ph.D. fellowship (“Renouvellement des Compétences” Program) from the Region Bretagne. MV and FV are thankful to the many people from the Department AD2M of the Station Biologique de Roscoff who provided help for the surveys carried out in the field.

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  1. Marine Environment Research Group, Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

    James T. Murphy & Mark P. Johnson

  2. CNRS, UMR 7144, Adaptation and Diversity in Marine Environment Department, Divco Team, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 6, Place Georges Teissier, 29680, Roscoff, France

    James T. Murphy & Frédérique Viard

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Correspondence to James T. Murphy.

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Murphy, J.T., Johnson, M.P. & Viard, F. A theoretical examination of environmental effects on the life cycle schedule and range limits of the invasive seaweed Undaria pinnatifida . Biol Invasions 19, 691–702 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1357-1

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