Effects of Freezing on Intertidal Seaweeds

亚极地和温带地区的潮间带藻类在冬季退潮时经常和严重冻结。在反复冰冻中生存的能力是一种重要的适应能力，并可能极大地影响垂直地带性。与高等植物相比，人们对冰冻对海洋巨藻的生态或生理影响知之甚少。这项研究将通过检查冷冻对光合作用的影响，重点关注冷冻作为亚致死胁迫的作用，这种胁迫会降低生长和竞争能力。该研究将解决以下问题：(1)抗冻性的机制是什么；(2)同一机制是否同时赋予抗冻性和干旱性；(3)由于遗传适应或表型适应，抗冻性与潮高相关的种间差异是否存在；耐压力，和低海岸，竞争藻类？这项调查将有助于我们了解冻结作为一种生态因素，并解决对所有研究潮间带的科学家普遍重要的问题。

Intertidal algae in sub-polar and temperate regions experience frequent and severe freezing during tidal emersion in the winter. The ability to survive repeated freezing is an important adaptation, and may greatly influence vertical zonation. In contrast to higher plants, relatively little is known about the ecological or physiological effects of freezing on marine macroalgae. This research will focus on the role of freezing as a sub-lethal stress, which reduces growth and perhaps competitive ability, by examining the effect of freezing on photosynthesis. The research will address the following questions: (1) what mechanisms are responsible for freezing resistance, (2) does the same mechanism confer resistance to both freezing and desiccation, (3) are interspecific differences in freezing resistance correlated with tidal height due to genetic adaptation or phenotypic acclimation, and (4) does the relative importance of freezing acclimation vary between upper-shore, stress tolerant, and lower-shore, competitive algae? This investigation will contribute to our knowledge of freezing as an ecological factor, and also address questions of general importance to all scientists studying the intertidal zone.