The use of seaweeds has a long history, as does the cultivation of a select and relatively small group of species. This review presents several aspects of seaweed production, such as an update on the volumes of seaweeds produced globally... more
The use of seaweeds has a long history, as does the cultivation of a select and relatively small group of species. This review presents several aspects of seaweed production, such as an update on the volumes of seaweeds produced globally by both extraction from natural beds and cultivation. We discuss uses, production trends and economic analysis. We also focus on what is viewed as the huge potential for growing industrial-scale volumes of seaweeds to provide sufficient, sustainable biomass to be processed into a multitude of products to benefit humankind. The biorefinery approach is proposed as a sustainable strategy to achieve this goal. There are many different technologies available to produce seaweed, but optimization and more efficient developments are still required. We conclude that there are some fundamental and very significant hurdles yet to overcome in order to achieve the potential contributions that seaweed cultivation may provide the world. There are critical aspects, such as improving the value of seaweed biomass, along with a proper consideration of the ecosystem services that seaweed farming can provide, e.g. a reduction in coastal nutrient loads. Additional considerations are environmental risks associated with climate change, pathogens, epibionts and grazers, as well as the preservation of the genetic diversity of cultivated seaweeds. Importantly, we provide an outline for future needs in the anticipation that phycologists around the world will rise to the challenge, such that the potential to be derived from seaweed biomass becomes a reality.
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ABSTRACT Protandrism was confirmed in Crepidula fecunda Gallardo 1979 by histological analysis of the gonad. Individuals were classified as immature (12 mm or less in shell length), male (13–26 mm), intersex (25–28 mm), and female (over... more
ABSTRACT Protandrism was confirmed in Crepidula fecunda Gallardo 1979 by histological analysis of the gonad. Individuals were classified as immature (12 mm or less in shell length), male (13–26 mm), intersex (25–28 mm), and female (over 26 mm). There was an evident loss of mobility with growth— large females became completely sessile. The presence of epithelial glands in mobile individuals was associated with the need for lubrication during crawling, whereas the proliferation of subepithelial glands in sessile females was associated with adhesion. Mobility of immature and male individuals was related to grazing activities on biofilms, and in males was also associated with copulation. Grazing activity of motile individuals was carried out so that the radula teeth did not come into direct contact with the substratum, but rather harvested the biofilm surface. Sessile females used the radula to rasp the area under their shells, thus cleaning the substratum in preparation for oviposition. Since this process required that the radula enter into direct contact with the substratum, it suffered abrasion of radular teeth and loss of radular denticles, producing important alterations in its appearance in mature females. A complex interaction was observed between size, mobility, histological changes in the foot, activity, and tooth‐wear of the radula, which have been related to the sessile habit, sex change, and the oviposition process in this species.