Abstract
Ulva cf. lactuca has been a disturbing competitor of experimental Gracilaria conferta outdoor cultures in Israel. The effect of environmental conditions on the competitive ability of Ulva versus Gracilaria, and the main limiting factors for which these seaweeds compete, were studied here. Single and biculture experiments of both seaweeds showed that Ulva outgrew and damaged Gracilaria under all irradiance and temperature combinations. The higher competitive ability of Ulva cf. lactuca in bicultures was not a result of responses to shading or nitrogen shortage, but rather to a shortage of available inorganic carbon, an increase in pH and apparent excretions of Ulva which inhibited the growth of Gracilaria.
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Svirski, E., Beer, S. & Friedlander, M. Gracilaria conferta and its epiphytes: (2) Interrelationship between the red seaweed and Ulva cf. lactuca . Hydrobiologia 260, 391–396 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00049046
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00049046