Variation in thermal stress response in two populations of the brown seaweed, Fucus distichus from the Arctic and subarctic intertidal

Abstract

It is unclear whether intertidal organisms are ‘preadapted’ to cope with the increase of temperature and temperature variability or if they are currently at their thermal tolerance limits. To address the dichotomy, we focused on an important ecosystem engineer of the Arctic intertidal rocky shores, the seaweed Fucus distichusand investigated thermal stress responses of two populations from different temperature regimes (Svalbard and Kirkenes, Norway).