Phenotypic variation in sexually and asexually recruited individuals of the Baltic Sea endemic macroalga Fucus radicans: in the field and after growth in a common-garden.

Background: Most species of brown macroalgae recruit exclusively sexually. However, Fucus radicans, a dominant species in the northern Baltic Sea, recruits new attached thalli both sexually and asexually. The level of asexual recruitment varies among populations from complete sexual recruitment to almost (> 90%) monoclonal populations.