Nutrient uptake by seaweeds

Newly published research by graduate student Kylla Benes highlights the role of tidal elevation and nutrient availability in mediating nitrate uptake by the intertidal seaweed Fucus vesiculosus. In her paper, just out online in the Journal of Phycology, Kylla reports on observations and experiments that describe how acclimation and adaptation to differences in nitrate availability associated with tide height and location allow Fucus to persist across substantial gradients in tide hight and latitude. Kylla’s research spanned intertidal sites in the Gulf of Maine from Boston to the Canadian border, taking a biogeographical and evolutionary approach to understanding nutrient physiology. This is Kylla’s first published dissertation chapter. Way to go!