Mentor: Lindsay Green-Gavrielidis, Salve Regina University

Project Location

Salve Regina University

Project Description

Habitat-forming seaweeds such as rockweeds (Order Fucales) are ecosystem engineers that form dynamic habitats in cool-water regions and support complex food webs. Rockweeds, such as Fucus spp. and Ascophyllum nodosum, are dominant, temperate seaweeds in the intertidal and shallow subtidal of rocky shorelines. These seaweeds provide food and habitat to ecologically and economically important invertebrates and fishes and are generally long-lived. Changes in the distribution or abundance of habitat-forming seaweeds can have dramatic consequences for the associated food webs and ecosystem health. Recent research has shown that rockweed populations in Narragansett Bay have changed significantly over the past 30-40 years, with populations in the north of the bay declining and populations in the south of the bay increasing.

To further understand these changes, field and laboratory research will be conducted on rockweed populations throughout the state to understand how they may respond differently to physical (e.g. climate change) and biological (e.g. non-native species) stressors. This data will shed light on why rockweed populations have been changing and may allow us to predict future changes in these vital marine habitats in the future.