ANIMIDA III Boulder Patch and Other Kelp Communities in Development Area Final Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BOEM 2019-053 ANIMIDA III Boulder Patch and Other Kelp Communities in Development Area Final Report Prepared By: Kenneth H. Dunton, Principal Investigator University of Texas Marine Science Institute 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, Texas 78373 e-mail of corresponding author: [email protected] Authors: Kenneth H. Dunton1, Christina E. Bonsell1, Katrin Iken2, Brenda Konar2, Arley F. Muth1, and Susan V. Schonberg1 1University of Texas Marine Science Institute 2University of Alaska Fairbanks Prepared For: Cathy Coon Chief, Environmental Sciences Management Alaska Office Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Cooperative Agreement No. M12AC00007 15 January 2020 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................................... 3 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Background and Setting .............................................................................................................................. 5 Directed Experimental and Observational Studies .......................................................................... 7 Background and Setting................................................................................................................. 10 1. Seasonality and change near the mouth of an Arctic river: Environmental variability in Stefansson Sound, Alaska ............................................................................................ 10 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 10 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................... 12 Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 15 Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................... 26 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................................... 31 2. Spatial and temporal trends in community composition in the Arctic Boulder Patch ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 35 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................... 35 Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 40 Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................... 57 3. Patterns and drivers of benthic community structure and early succession in an estuarine Arctic kelp bed .......................................................................................................................... 63 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 63 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................... 66 Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 68 Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................... 76 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................................... 83 Directed Experimental and Observational Studies ......................................................................... 85 4. Within- and between-basin population connectivity in the Arctic endemic kelp Laminaria solidungula .................................................................................................... 85 Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................... 85 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 85 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................... 88 Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 92 Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................... 97 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................. 101 5. Long-term patterns of benthic irradiance and kelp production in the central Beaufort Sea reveal implications of warming for Arctic inner shelves ........................ 106 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 106 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 108 Results .......................................................................................................................................................... 112 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 122 2 6. Physiological responses of an Arctic crustose coralline alga (Leptophytum foecundum) within variations of salinity ....................................................................................... 128 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 128 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 129 Results .......................................................................................................................................................... 132 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 136 7. Carbonate chemistry of the nearshore Arctic: shifts and future implications .... 138 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 138 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 139 Results .......................................................................................................................................................... 140 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 149 8. Freshwater input effects on Laminaria solidungula microscopic stages (short report) .............................................................................................................................................................. 152 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 152 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 153 Results .......................................................................................................................................................... 154 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 156 References ...................................................................................................................................................... 158 Acknowledgements This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management (BOEM), Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, Anchorage, Alaska under BOEM Cooperative Agreement No. M12AC00007. The studies of the Boulder