The population structure, sex ratio and reproductive potential of limpets (Patella spp.) on natural shores and artificial structures in the Irish Sea.

Artificial structures often support depauperate communities compared to natural rocky shores. Understanding variation in ecological success across shore types, particularly regarding habitat-forming species or those with structuring roles, is important to determine how artificial structure proliferation may influence ecosystem functioning and services. We investigated the population structure, sex ratio and reproductive potential of limpets on natural shores and artificial structures on Irish Sea coasts.

The Pressure Is On - Epiphyte Water-Relations Altered Under Elevated CO.

Vascular epiphytes are a major biomass component of forests across the globe and they contribute to 9% of global vascular plant diversity. To improve our understanding of the whole-plant response of epiphytes to future climate change, we investigated for the first time both individual and combined effects of elevated CO (560 ppm) and light on the physiology and growth of two epiphyte species [ (CAM) and (C3)] grown for 272 days under controlled conditions. We found that under elevated CO the difference in water loss between the light (650 μmol ms) and shade (130 μmol ms) treatment was strongly reduced.