AnaEE Science Conference 2026

Enhancing kelp resilience to climate change through phenotyping and conditioning

Not scheduled

15m

Palais de l'Europe

Poster Session 5: Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Session 5: Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation

Speaker

Neusa Martins (Centro de Ciências do Mar do Algarve (CCMAR/CIMAR LA), Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

Description

Kelp forests underpin nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation through biodiversity support, coastal productivity, carbon sequestration and contributions to the blue economy. However, ocean warming and increasingly frequent marine heatwaves are driving widespread declines, reducing their capacity to deliver these benefits. Enhancing kelp thermal resilience is therefore critical for the sustainability of aquaculture and restoration in a changing climate. In this study, we combine high-throughput phenotyping, stress priming and early-life conditioning to enhance the thermal resilience of the golden kelp Laminaria ochroleuca. A high-throughput phenotyping platform (SAMMBA), integrating automated microscopy, chlorophyll autofluorescence and machine-learning image analysis was used to screen hundreds of gametophyte strains for thermal tolerance. In parallel, stress priming experiments demonstrated that thermal and nutrient priming improved gametophyte survival under heat stress and expanded the reproductive thermal window. Moreover, sporophytes derived from thermally primed gametophytes maintained photosynthetic performance under heat stress, providing evidence of transgenerational thermal priming. Complementary approaches, including biostimulant application and developmental temperature modulation, further improve early-life performance and reveal additional mechanisms to enhance sporophyte resilience under elevated temperatures. Together, these approaches provide scalable tools to identify resilient genotypes and enhance thermal tolerance without genetic modification, supporting the production of climate-ready kelp seedstock for aquaculture and marine restoration. By increasing the resilience of a habitat-forming foundation species, this work contributes to strengthening kelp forests as effective nature-based solutions under future climate change.

Keywords: Kelp aquaculture; Thermal resilience; High-throughput phenotyping; Stress priming; Climate change adaptation
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