Restoration of kelp forests typically relies on transplanting sporophylls to new locations and has limited application in regions with low remnant kelp cover. Cultivated kelp requires fewer sporophylls and is a potential alternative and sustainable source of transplants for large-scale restoration projects. Naturally sourced fertile sporophylls, however, are still required as “seed” stock in cultivation practices, thus optimizing cultivation methods is important to minimize this dependency on wild stocks. To assist in optimizing the early-stage cultivation methods for restoring beds of the laminarian kelp Ecklonia radiata, we first tested the effects of sporophyll transport, storage, and dehydration on zoospore release. We then tested for effects of inoculum storage temperature on zoospore abundance, and lastly for media sterilization and inoculum concentration effects on both zoospore settlement and resulting gametophyte densities. Our results show, to maximize zoospore release, sporophylls should be transported dry and inoculated within 3 hours. Inoculum can be stored at 4°C without affecting zoospore abundance and should be added to sterilized media at lower concentrations to reduce settled zoospore density and improve post-settlement survival of the gametophyte stage. This study provides practical recommendations for optimizing the initial cultivation procedures of E. radiata. To develop a full life-cycle cultivation protocol for kelp restoration purposes, future research should focus on optimizing sporophyte production, out-planting and transplanting techniques.

中文翻译：

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优化海带 Ecklonia radiata 的初始栽培阶段以进行恢复

海带林的恢复通常依赖于将孢子叶移植到新的地点，并且在剩余海带覆盖率低的地区应用有限。养殖海带需要较少的孢子叶，是大规模恢复项目的潜在替代和可持续移植来源。然而，天然来源的可育孢子叶在栽培实践中仍然需要作为“种子”种群，因此优化栽培方法对于最大限度地减少对野生种群的依赖非常重要。协助优化用于恢复海带Ecklonia radiata床的早期栽培方法，我们首先测试了孢子素运输、储存和脱水对游动孢子释放的影响。然后我们测试了接种物储存温度对游动孢子丰度的影响，最后测试了培养基灭菌和接种物浓度对游动孢子沉降和由此产生的配子体密度的影响。我们的结果表明，为了最大限度地释放游动孢子，孢子叶应干燥运输并在 3 小时内接种。接种物可以在 4°C 下储存，而不会影响游动孢子的丰度，并且应以较低的浓度将接种物添加到已灭菌的培养基中，以降低沉降的游动孢子密度并提高配子体阶段的沉降后存活率。本研究为优化放射线虫的初始培养程序提供了实用建议. 为了开发用于海带恢复目的的全生命周期培养方案，未来的研究应侧重于优化孢子体生产、外栽和移栽技术。