Maine Sea Grant, based at the University of Maine, is joining hands with Maine shellfish farmers to build knowhow in growing kelp to better exploit the USD 6 billion worldwide seaweed industry.
Digital library
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In response to the recent Time Magazine article “End of the Line” published July 7, 2011, NAA sent the following letter.
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Competition between corals and benthic algae is prevalent on coral reefs worldwide and has the potential to influence the structure of the reef benthos. Human activities may influence the outcome of these interactions by favoring algae to become the superior competitor, and this type of change in competitive dynamics is a potential mechanism driving coral−algal phase shifts. Here we surveyed the types and outcomes of coral interactions with benthic algae in the Line Islands of the Central Pacific. Islands ranged from nearly pristine to heavily fished. We observed major differences in the dominant groups of algae interacting with corals between sites, and the outcomes of coral−algal interactions varied across reefs on the different islands. Corals were generally better competitors against crustose coralline algae regardless of location, and were superior competitors against turf algae on reefs surrounding uninhabited islands. On reefs surrounding inhabited islands, however, turf algae were generally the superior competitors. When corals were broken down by size class, we found that the smallest and the largest coral colonies were the best competitors against algae; the former successfully fought off algae while being completely surrounded, and the latter generally avoided algal overgrowth by growing up above the benthos. Our data suggest that human disruption of the reef ecosystem may lead to a building pattern of competitive disadvantage for corals against encroaching algae, particularly turf algae, potentially initiating a transition towards algal dominance.
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Marine natural products have as of now been acknowledged as the most important source of bioactive substances and drug leads. Marine flora and fauna, such as algae, bacteria, sponges, fungi, seaweeds, corals, diatoms, ascidian etc. are important resources from oceans, accounting for more than 90% of the total oceanic biomass. They are taxonomically different with huge productive and are pharmacologically active novel chemical signatures and bid a tremendous opportunity for discovery of new anti-cancer molecules. The water bodies a rich source of potent molecules which improve existence suitability and serve as chemical shield against microbes and little or huge creatures. These molecules have exhibited a range of biological properties antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumour etc. In spite of huge resources enriched with exciting chemicals, the marine floras and faunas are largely unexplored for their anticancer properties. In recent past, numerous marine anticancer compounds have been isolated, characterized, identified and are under trials for human use. In this write up we have tried to compile about marine-derived compounds anticancer biological activities of diverse flora and fauna and their underlying mechanisms and the generous raise in these compounds examined for malignant growth treatment in the course of the most recent quite a long while.
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Ocean Acidification - Flourishing seaweed:
Macroalgae (seaweed) form an important component of rocky shore ecosystems, so an understanding of their sensitivity to ocean acidification is important for understanding the wider ocean acidification impacts on coastal ecosystems.
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To conserve the natural stock and also to get consistent crop year after year, the seaweed collectors have to follow a suitable time-table. Attempts must be made by the seaweed based industries to exploit these seaweeds during the maximum growth periods from their places of occurrence in order to meet the raw material requirements and also to conserve the economically important seaweeds growing in Tamil Nadu coast.
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Ocean Afforestation, more precisely Ocean Macroalgal Afforestation (OMA), has the potential to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations through expanding natural populations of macroalgae, which absorb carbon dioxide, then are harvested to produce biomethane and biocarbon dioxide via anaerobic digestion. The plant nutrients remaining after digestion are recycled to expand the algal forest and increase fish populations.
A mass balance has been calculated from known data and applied to produce a life cycle assessment and economic analysis. This analysis shows the potential of Ocean Afforestation to produce 12 billion tons per year of biomethane while storing 19 billion tons of CO2 per year directly from biogas production, plus up to 34 billion tons per year from carbon capture of the biomethane combustion exhaust.These rates are based on macro-algae forests covering 9% of the world’s ocean surface, which could produce sufficient biomethane to replace all of today’s needs in fossil fuel energy, while removing 53 billion tons of CO2 per year from the atmosphere, restoring pre-industrial levels. This amount of biomass could also increase sustainable fish production to potentially provide 200 kg/yr/person for 10 billion people. Additional benefits are reduction in ocean acidification and increased ocean primary productivity and biodiversity.
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Offshore grown macroalgae biomass could provide a sustainable feedstock for biorefineries. However, tools to assess its potential for producing biofuels, food and chemicals are limited. In this work, we determined the net annual primary productivity (NPP) for Ulva sp. (Chlorophyta), using a single layer cultivation in a shallow, coastal site in Israel. We also evaluated the implied potential bioethanol production under literature based conversion rates. Overall, the daily growth rate of Ulva sp. was 4.5 ± 1.1%, corresponding to an annual average productivity of 5.8 ± 1.5 gDW m−2 day−1. In comparison, laboratory experiments showed that under nutrients saturation conditions Ulva sp. daily growth rate achieved 33 ± 6%. The average NPP of Ulva sp. offshore was 838 ± 201 g C m−2 year−1, which is higher than the global average of 290 g C m−2 year−1 NPP estimated for terrestrial biomass in the Middle East. These results position Ulva sp. at the high end of potential crops for bioenergy under the prevailing conditions of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. We found that with 90% confidence, with the respect to the conversion distribution, the annual ethanol production from Ulva sp. biomass, grown in a layer reactor is 229.5 g ethanol m−2 year−1.This translates to an energy density of 5.74 MJ m−2 year−1 and power density of 0.18 W m−2. Growth intensification, to the rates observed at the laboratory conditions, with currently reported conversion yields, could increase, with 90% confidence, the annual ethanol production density of Ulva sp. to 1735 g ethanol m−2 year−1, which translates to an energy density of 43.5 MJ m−2 year−1 and a power density 1.36 W m−2. Based on the measured NPP, we estimated the size of offshore area allocation required to provide biomass for bioethanol sufficient to replace 5–100% of oil used in transportation in Israel. We also performed a sensitivity analysis on the biomass productivity, national CO2 emissions reduction, ethanol potential, feedstock costs and sizes of the required allocated areas.
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Offshore grown macroalgae biomass could provide a sustainable feedstock for biorefineries. However, tools to assess its potential for producing biofuels, food and chemicals are limited. In this work, we determined the net annual primary productivity (NPP) for Ulva sp. (Chlorophyta), using a single layer cultivation in a shallow, coastal site in Israel. We also evaluated the implied potential bioethanol production under literature based conversion rates. Overall, the daily growth rate of Ulva sp. was 4.5 ± 1.1%, corresponding to an annual average productivity of 5.8 ± 1.5 gDW m2 day1 . In comparison, laboratory experiments showed that under nutrients saturation conditions Ulva sp. daily growth rate achieved 33 ± 6%. The average NPP of Ulva sp. offshore was 838 ± 201 g C m2 year1 , which is higher than the global average of 290 g C m2 year1 NPP estimated for terrestrial biomass in the Middle East. These results position Ulva sp. at the high end of potential crops for bioenergy under the prevailing conditions of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. We found that with 90% confidence, with the respect to the conversion distribution, the annual ethanol production from Ulva sp. biomass, grown in a layer reactor is 229.5 g ethanol m2 year1 .This translates to an energy density of 5.74 MJ m2 year1 and power density of 0.18 W m2 . Growth intensification, to the rates observed at the laboratory conditions, with currently reported conversion yields, could increase, with 90% confidence, the annual ethanol production density of Ulva sp. to 1735 g ethanol m2 year1 , which translates to an energy density of 43.5 MJ m2 year1 and a power density 1.36 W m2 . Based on the measured NPP, we estimated the size of offshore area allocation required to provide biomass for bioethanol sufficient to replace 5–100% of oil used in transportation in Israel. We also performed a sensitivity analysis on the biomass productivity, national CO2 emissions reduction, ethanol potential, feedstock costs and sizes of the required allocated areas.
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Beyond their significant contribution to the dietary and industrial supplies, marine algae are considered to be a potential source of some unique metabolites with diverse health benefits. The pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cholesterol homeostasis, protein clearance and anti-amyloidogenic potentials of algal metabolites endorse their protective efficacy against oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired proteostasis which are known to be implicated in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders and the associated complications after cerebral ischemia and brain injuries. As was evident in various preclinical studies, algal compounds conferred neuroprotection against a wide range of neurotoxic stressors, such as oxygen/glucose deprivation, hydrogen peroxide, glutamate, amyloid β, or 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) and, therefore, hold therapeutic promise for brain disorders. While a significant number of algal compounds with promising neuroprotective capacity have been identified over the last decades, a few of them have had access to clinical trials. However, the recent approval of an algal oligosaccharide, sodium oligomannate, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease enlightened the future of marine algae-based drug discovery. In this review, we briefly outline the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases and brain injuries for identifying the targets of pharmacological intervention, and then review the literature on the neuroprotective potentials of algal compounds along with the underlying pharmacological mechanism, and present an appraisal on the recent therapeutic advances. We also propose a rational strategy to facilitate algal metabolites-based drug development.
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Marine Agronomy Group, CAFNRM, UH-Hilo
200 W. Kawili st., HI 96720, USA
Contact: Marine.Agronomy.Group@gmail.com
Funding for this web portal is provided by the World Wildlife Fund and the University of Hawaii-Hilo.