STUDIES ON THE GIANT KELP,MACROCYSTIS. I. GROWTH OF YOUNG PLANTS

Neushul , M., and F. T. Haxo . (Scripps Inst. Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif.) Studies on the giant kelp, Macrocystis. I. Growth of young plants. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(4): 349–353. Illus. 1963.—The growth of entire young plants of Macrocystis pyrifera was studied in the sea and in the laboratory. Measurements were made of plants in natural stands and of plants transplanted to submerged rafts. Macrocystis was raised in laboratory tanks under controlled conditions of light and temperature. Maximum growth rates in the laboratory paralleled those observed in the sea, plants doubling in area every 16–20 days and in length every 20–30 days under optimum conditions. The transplantation experiments and diving observations demonstrated the important influence of biological activity on the establishment and growth of young plants in the sea.