An idealized model of interaction between fronds of the large seaweed Durvillaea antarctica

The effect of interactions between individual fronds in a bed of the large intertidal seaweed Durvillaea antarctica, when forced by breaking waves, is studied using a computational model. The model simulates the response of a seaweed bed using a sequence of connected oscillators which are excited by a propagating forcing function representing a breaking ocean wave. Two new facets of the interplay between seaweeds and hydrodynamics are considered: (i) wave forcing due to breaking waves is often not sinusoidal in the rocky intertidal zone and (ii) a frond interaction term is included. The addition of frond interaction reduces the maximum loading on individuals within the bed by around 30% using estimated biomechanical parameters. The rate of change of the loading on the holdfast (equivalent to the “jerk”) is affected in a similar or greater fashion.