Heat stress is known to induce photoinhibition, leaf senescence, and nutrient remobilization in terrestrial plants with apical growth, however, its effect on blade erosion and associated-changes in chemical compositions has rarely been studied in marine macroalgae with intercalary growth such as kelp. The present study examined the combined effects of ocean warming (23 and 26°C), irradiance (30 and 180 μmol m^–2 s^–1), and nutrient enrichment (enriched and non-enriched) on photosystem II maximum efficiency (F_v/F_m) in the kelp Eisenia bicyclis. It also investigated the effect of ocean warming on the kelp’s relative growth rates based on five morphological parameters and three chemical compositions (carbon, nitrogen, and phlorotannnins). A warming effect on photoinhibition (i.e., decline in F_v/F_m) was only detected under the higher irradiance combined with nutrient-enrichment condition. Under this condition, elevated temperature decreased relative growth rates to negative values, indicating occurrence of apical blade erosion. Temperature elevation also caused increases in nitrogen and phlorotannin contents within the whole body, but not carbon content. Moreover, nitrogen content in the meristems at 26°C was higher than that at 23°C, although such a difference was not observed with phlorotannin content. These results suggested that heat-induced apical blade erosion promoted nitrogen accumulation in the meristems, located in the lower part of the blade, in E. bicyclis.

The green macroalga Ulva prolifera has a number of variants, some of which are asexual (independent from sexual variants). Although it has been harvested for food, the yield is decreasing. To meet market demand, developing elite cultivars is required. The present study investigated the genetic stability of asexual variants, genotype (hsp90 gene sequences) and phenotype variations across a temperature gradient (10–30 °C) in an apomictic population. Asexual variants were collected from six localities in Japan and were isolated as an unialgal strain. The hsp90 gene sequences of six strains were different and each strain included multiple distinct alleles, suggesting that the strains were diploid and heterozygous. The responses of growth and sporulation versus temperature differed among strains. Differences in thermosensitivity among strains could be interpreted as the result of evolution and processes of adaptation to site-specific environmental conditions. Although carbon content did not differ among strains and cultivation temperatures, nitrogen content tended to increase at higher temperatures and there were differences among strains. A wide variety of asexual variants stably reproducing clonally would be advantageous in selecting elite cultivars for long-term cultivation. Using asexual variants as available resources for elite cultivars provides potential support for increasing the productivity of U. prolifera.