The Role of Blade Buoyancy and Reconfiguration in the Mechanical Adaptation of the Southern Bullkelp Durvillaea

The intertidal habitat is mechanically very demanding [1]. High flow rates (greater than 25 m s-1) and accelerations (greater than 500 m s-2) require special mechanical adaptations by intertidal organisms [2-8]. In general, it is advantageous to minimize the overall size to avoid excessive wave-induced forces [9]. Intertidal seaweeds, however, deviate from this pattern. Based on common presumptions of how forces scale with size, this group seems to be oversized [9].