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In view of the broad-based support of several federal agencies for enhanced mariculture of coastal resources, including the National and New England Sea Grant College Programs, Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center, Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation, a study of domesticating indigenous species of Porphyra was undertaken for commercial cultivation. Nori cultivation has one of the greatest potentials for generating a viable seaweed mariculture industry in the United States and Canada. Detailed seasonal and spatial collections from diverse coastal and estuarine habitats have been made to delineate the seasonality and habitat preferences of Porphyra in coastal New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. At least seven different species of Porphyra are being examined using a variety of traditional morphometric parameters and cytological and molecular techniques. Over 130 unialgal cultures of Porphyra amplissima, P. miniata, P. umbilicalis, P. linearis, P. purpurea, P. leucosticta, and P. carolinensis have been established and are being maintained for comparative molecular genetic and ecophysiological investigations. The abilities of each of these isolates to respond to traditional Asian nori cultivation techniques are also under examination. Several strains of each of the species of Porphyra have successfully completed their life cycles in culture and F2 individuals have been obtained for P. amplissima, P. leucosticta, P. purpurea, and P. umbilicalis. Conchocelis cultures have been successfully established in bivalve shells, a very important step in the domestication process. Whether or not nori aquaculture will ultimately succeed in New England and the Canadian Maritimes will depend in large part upon several key factors, including: (1) successful transfer and modification of Chinese and Japanese cultivation technologies to local coastal environments; (2) development of genetically improved strains (cultivars) of marketable nori that will extend the growing and harvest season; (3) establishing a constant and readily available supply of a "seedstock" of juvenile organisms; and (4) expansion of the area presently used for cultivation (i.e., beyond northern Maine).

The present study deals with the impact of domestic waste on Caulerpa recemosa collected from a densely populated village of Minicoy Island. Length of erect foliar portion of C. racemosa collected from the polluted site was only 2.15 cm while at control site it was 6.16 cm. Similarly weight of the plant was also low (0.26 g) when compared to unpolluted site (0.95 g). Length – weight relationship indicated wider variability in the size of the plant at polluted site with lower values. Net primary production values showed 7.2 fold more production at control site than that of polluted site. Environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, turbidity and nutrients were monitored.

Water distribution network models are used by water companies in a wide range ofapplications. A good calibration of these models is required in order to increase theconfidence of the applications’ results. The aim of this doctoral thesis is to developan adaptive water distribution model which both calibrates its parameters and discernsbetween faults and system evolution. In previous projects, nodal demands were themajor uncertainty within the model parameters. A demand calibration methodologywas developed during the master project. The results obtained were promising, althoughthe work done fulfils only a small part of the whole application. In order to accomplishthe remaining tasks, further work must be done. First, system identifiability will beperformed in order to determine the number of required sensors that make the systemobservable. The identifiability study will lead to sampling design methodologies andnetwork reduction (skeletonization). Once the model is identifiable, two calibrationtechniques based on non-linear least squares and artificial intelligence techniques willbe studied and adapted for the final application. A methodology for distinguishingbetween faults and parameter evolution will be developed too. All the subprocesses willbe assembled in an open source software which combines the simulating engine fromEPANET with the computational power from MATLAB, becoming a full calibrationand monitoring application for water networks. Finally, at least two real scenarios willbe monitored through the proposed application.This thesis proposal sets the basis for the thesis development, presenting the work doneon the subject, organising the future tasks and proposing a working plan.

The phylogenetic diversity of microorganisms living at high salt concentrations is surprising. Halophiles are found in each of the three domains: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya. The metabolic diversity of halophiles is great as well: they include oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs, aerobic heterotrophs, fermenters, denitrifiers, sulfate reducers, and methanogens. The diversity of metabolic types encountered decreases with salinity. The upper salinity limit at which each dissimilatory process takes place is correlated with the amount of energy generated and the energetic cost of osmotic adaptation. Our understanding of the biodiversity in salt-saturated environments has increased greatly in recent years. Using a combination of culture techniques, molecular biological methods, and chemotaxonomic studies, we have obtained information on the nature of the halophilic Archaea as well as the halophilic Bacteria that inhabit saltern crystallizer ponds. Several halophilic microorganisms are being exploited in biotechnology. In some cases, such as the production of ectoine, the product is directly related to the halophilic behavior of the producing microorganism. In other cases, such as the extraction of beta-carotene from Dunaliella or the potential use of Haloferax species for the production of poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoate or extracellular polysaccharides, similar products can be obtained from non-halophiles, but halophilic microorganisms may present advantages over the use of non-halophilic counterparts.