UBC/BMSC graduate student, Samuel Starko and his supervisor, Dr. Patrick Martone (UBC Associate Professor) study the developmental strategies of kelps within a comparative (ie. evolutionary) framework. In their latest article, published in the Journal of Phycology, the authors identify a trade-off between drag reducing (folding up and streamlining) and drag tolerant (having a strong holdfast and stipe to resist breakage) morphologies. This could have important implications for the evolution of this lineage and may drive observable patterns of morphological development.
All of the field and laboratory work for this project was completed at BMSC, including use of the recirculating flume.
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