Herbivores can drastically alter the morphology of macroalgae by directly
consuming tissue and by inflicting structural wounds. Macroalgae host abundant
and diverse epibiont communities, the dynamics of which tend to be mostly
unknown in space and time. As the cultivation of macroalgae gains momentum
worldwide, it is key to measure how epibionts could affect algal performance.
We examined the epibiont community associated with farmed Alsidiumtriquetrum, a red macroalga
with growing pharmacological interest. Measurements were conducted over two
independent 60-day periods, one in summer and one in winter. Epibionts showed
different patterns of succession in both seasons. Crustaceans, mainly amphipods,
showed the highest overall density, with deleterious effects on daily growth
rates of A. triquetrumin
winter. Adverse effects as a
function of epibionts were not detected in summer. A.triquetrum is a perennial
alga. However, its performance as a crop in the nearshore can be significantly
affected by the epibiont community structure that persists in winter. Amphipods
and ascoglossan molluscs were risk factors in the mariculture of this
agarophyte. In winter, they can destroy plants when they reach more than five
individuals per gram of fresh biomass. Results highlight that commercial
farming of A. triquetrumwould be successful if grown throughout the summer.
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