Laminaria hyperborea off the island of Helgoland (North Sea, Germany) was sampled along a depth gradient (0.5, 2, 4, 6 m) throughout summer 2014. Stipe length of the sporophyte was measured. In blade discs from three different blade regions (5, 25 and 50 cm above the stipe-blade transition zone) dry mass, fresh mass and dry mass:area ratio were measured.
Additional funding was provided by the Postdoctoral fellowship grant of the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies and the Weston Foundation.