Macrophytic algae, which are at the base of intertidal food webs, provide food and shelter to organisms of higher trophic levels. Rocky substrata and macroalgae are essential to the physical and biological sustainability of intertidal ecosystems. In 2007 the owner of Frog Island, Nova Scotia removed boulders, cobble, and algae from an 800 ft. x 80 ft. (244 m x 24 m) section of the beach to build an erosion control rock wall around the perimeter of the island. Consequently,fish habitat provided by macrophytic algal species was destroyed. To our knowledge, there are limited published studies regarding the recovery process of macrophyticalgae after a disturbance of this magnitude. To restore the intertidal habitat,a remediation plan was proposed and implemented, followed by a five-year monitoring program. The purpose of this research was to determine a rate of macrophytic algal recolonization on Frog Island and to understand what physical and biological factors may affect the recovery process.The study site had 17 sampling transects: 14 in an experimental site and three in a control site. The research involved an analysis of percentage of algal coverage and an analysis of dry biomass. Algal coverage increased over time, increased towards the sub tidal zone from the high intertidal zone, and was significantly different between the control site and the experimental site. Dry biomass increased with vertical zonation towards the sub tidal zone, varied between two sampling seasons, and varied between the control site and the experimental site.At the end of the five-year monitoring period, dry biomass and percentage of algal coverage were still less in the experimental site than in the control site. However, there was a progressive and healthy reestablishment of Fucoid algae species to the impacted rocky intertidal section of Frog Island.

background

Functional ecology of fucoid algae: twenty-three years of progress

Algal recolonization of frog island, nova scotia after large-scale removal of algal species through anthropogenic activity

Spiraling among the fucus: the strange story of Fucus spiralis

Foundation species, such as trees, corals, grasses, oysters, and rockweeds, must be common and abundant to effectively modify the physical environment and increase biodiversity by buffering environmental stress. Yet many of these important species have been declining due to disease, climate change, and other factors. A prime example is the precipitous population decline of marine rockweeds, which is attributed to increased urbanization and its accompanying impacts. Rockweeds provide three-dimensional habitat in harsh rocky intertidal environments and regulate ecosystem functioning, essential roles that no substitute species are capable of filling. Recovery of impacted rockweed populations is typically slow and unpredictable due to their limited dispersal capacity. These issues have motivated efforts to conserve remaining populations of rockweeds and reestablish or enhance depleted ones. Successfully doing so requires a robust understanding of factors that affect survival of the species and the processes that influence ecosystem structure, along with rigorous scientific testing of restoration methods and the factors that affect restoration success. In this comprehensive review, we summarize the current knowledge of rockweed ecology, highlight studies that could inform restoration practices, and recommend ways to improve our ability to implement scalable restoration of rockweeds and accompanying ecosystem-wide benefits. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/ecs2.4411

Ecological restoration using intertidal foundation species: Considerations and potential for rockweed restoration

Seleção de habitat por Epialtus spp. (Decapoda: Epialtidae)

Marine seaweeds constitute one of the most productive plant systems known on Earth and a rich fauna including juvenile fish and crustaceans is dependent on the habitats they form Human influence o 

/pdf/marine-seaweed-invasions-impacts-and-biotic-resistance-in-4orqxw17vy.pdf

Functional ecology of fucoid algae: twenty-three years of progress

Citations

Algal recolonization of frog island, nova scotia after large-scale removal of algal species through anthropogenic activity

Spiraling among the fucus: the strange story of Fucus spiralis

Ecological restoration using intertidal foundation species: Considerations and potential for rockweed restoration

Seleção de habitat por Epialtus spp. (Decapoda: Epialtidae)

Marine seaweed invasions : Impacts and biotic resistance in native ecosystems

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