The responses of the early development of Laminaria japonica collected from Kiaochow Bay in China to enhanced ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280—320 nm) were studied in the laboratory. The low UV-B ra-diations (11.7—23.4 J·m-2·d-1) had no significant effects on zoospores attachment, but when the UV-B dose 35.1 J·m-2·d-1 the attachment decreased significantly compared with the control. Germination of embryospores was 93% under the low (11.7—35.1 J·m-2·d-1) doses, and in the range of 78.5%—88.5% under the high (46.8—70.2 J·m-2·d-1) UV-B doses, indicating a significant radiation effect. Under the higher UV-B exposure (35.1—70.2 J·m-2·d-1), all of the few gametophytes formed from embryospores died 120 h post-release. After exposure to the low UV-B radiation (11.7—23.4 J·m-2·d-1), the formation of sporophytes decreased and the female gametophyte clones increased compared with the control. However, the sex ratio and the relative growth of female gametophytes/sporophytes had not signifi-cantly changed. According to the results, enhanced UV-B radiation has a significant effect on the early development of L. japonica under laboratory conditions, suggesting that the UV-B radiation could not be overlooked as one of the important environmental factors influencing the ontogeny of macroalgae living in marine ecosystems.
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