Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 23, 2025
14:44
Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration
Published on: June 7, 2024
2.2K
Small burrowing amphipods cause major damage in a large kelp
Lars Gutow1, Alistair G B Poore2, Manuel A Díaz Poblete3
1Department of Functional Ecology, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|April 30, 2020
Summary
Small amphipods burrowing into kelp stipes cause significant biomass loss. Concentrated feeding by these mesograzers damages kelp, impacting marine macrophyte populations.
Area of Science:
- Marine ecology
- Benthic ecology
- Herbivory studies
Background:
- Large herbivores control marine macrophyte biomass, but small mesograzer impacts are less predictable.
- Mesograzers like gastropods and crustaceans are abundant on seaweeds but have low per capita feeding rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the impact of mesograzers on marine macrophytes.
- To examine feeding damage by herbivorous amphipods on kelp.
Main Methods:
- Investigated feeding damage by amphipods *Sunamphitoe lessoniophila* and *Bircenna* sp. on kelp *Lessonia berteroana* stipes.
- Analyzed tissue degeneration and amphipod assemblage composition within burrows.
- Estimated biomass loss at individual stipe and population levels.
Main Results:
- Infested kelp stipes exhibited progressive tissue degeneration.
- Amphipod aggregation and localized feeding led to stipe breakage and significant biomass loss.
- Estimated biomass loss per stipe ranged from 1-77%, with 24-44% loss for the kelp population.
Conclusions:
- Small herbivores, when concentrated, can cause substantial damage to large kelp species.
- Localized feeding by mesograzers on structurally important kelp tissue can lead to considerable biomass reduction.
- Mesograzer feeding activity can significantly impact kelp populations.
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