...Nicholas P. Burnett; M. A. R. Koehl ABSTRACT The resistance of macroalgae to damage by hydrodynamic forces depends on the mechanical properties of their tissues. Although factors such as water-flow environment, algal growth rate and damage by herbivores have been shown to influence various material...

... on individual not repeated wave forces, and reality. Nonetheless, the degree to which fatigue breaks seaweeds on wave-swept shores remains unknown. Here, we developed a model of fatigue breakage due to wave-induced forces for the macroalga Mazzaella flaccida . To test model performance, we made extensive...

...Katharine J. Mach SUMMARY On rocky shores, wave-swept macroalgae experience dramatic and repeated wave-induced hydrodynamic forces. However, previous studies of macroalgal mechanics have shown that individual waves are not forceful enough to account for observed rates of breakage. Instead, fatigue...

... 2008 2008 adaptation biomechanics Calliarthron decalcification drag flexibility geniculum intertidal macroalgae material properties modulus Researchers have long studied morphological adaptations that allow intertidal macroalgae to survive the hydrodynamic forces imposed...

... reconfiguration of a flexible macroalga. J. Exp. Biol. 209 , 1894 -1903. Boller, M. L. and Carrington, E. ( 2006b ). In situ measurements of hydrodynamic forces imposed on Chondrus crispus Stackhouse. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 337 , 159 -170. Carrington, E. ( 1990 ). Drag and dislodgement...

... an alga. In contrast, intertidal macroalgae may experience more than 8000 waves a day. This repeated loading can cause cracks– introduced, for example, by herbivory or abrasion – to grow and eventually cause breakage, yet fatigue crack growth has not previously been taken into account. Here, we present...

...Katharine J. Mach; Benjamin B. Hale; Mark W. Denny; Drew V. Nelson SUMMARY Wave-swept macroalgae are subjected to large hydrodynamic forces as each wave breaks on shore, loads that are repeated thousands of times per day. Previous studies have shown that macroalgae can easily withstand isolated...

... of frequency ( Fig. 3A,B ). The elastic moduli shown in Fig. 3A are also of the same general magnitude as values reported previously for a variety of macroalgae (10 6 to 10 8 N m −2 ; for a review, see Denny et al., 1989 ). Note that the small blips in the curves of Fig. 3A occurred in association...