Economic and traditional use of algae and climate change

What did kathleen drew baker discover?

in 1949 she found the Conchocelis phase of pyropia, revolutionizing the nori industry in Japan

What are the benefits to seaweed aquacultre?

• Land may not be required

• Fertilizers not required/environmentally friendly?

• Often in developing countries, analternative to fishing

• Provides nursery habitat for fish and other organisms

• Filter undesired nutrients from system

• Has provided jobs to women/alternative livelihoods

why are seaweeds good to eat?

high in:

• minerals

• fiber

• vitamins

• protein

What does it mean if you encounter a nereocystis with two heads?

one will come face to face with a powerful supernatural creature from the sea- marking the door to the underworld (Haida nation)

Uses of seaweeds by caostal first nations

• herring spawn on kelp

• bull kelp halibut fish hook

• bull kelp fishing line

What is the most important seaweed globally?

pyropia

• on the coast when stinging nettle grows, the pyropia will be ready

• as well as with the salmon moon

TEK and Ecological Science

How does increase in pCO2 affect seaweeds

increase water temp

• decline of species

• herbivore metabolism increases

• reproduction

• snow melt, decreases salinity

sea level rise

• loose low intertidal species

• reduce intertidal space

decreased pH

• calcifiers negatively affected

• increased co2 can fuel photosynthesis in some kelps and diatoms

• increased co2 could mean higher C:N ratios and lower nitrogen which could decrease herbivory

• reducded pH delays spore settlement and inital mucilage gel i reduced

What are two research question regarding pH?

will warming increase herbivory and lead to a decline in kelp forests?

will reduced pH remove herbivores and corallines, and lead to an increase in fleshy algae?

can algaes save us?

• seaweed reduces methane produced by cow by 58% by eating asparagopsis 

• seaweed based packaging

• carbon sequestration by kelp

What are the issues with kelp sequestration?

• seaweed phostynthesis and takes up co2 which creates a deficite of co2 in the water in seconds, but then theres a delay in co2 to come in from the atmosphere:

• the difference in partial pressure of CO2 between air and water is weak there for diffusion form atmosphere to ocean can take weeks to years

• as these time scales are different, in the meantime grazers and fish are creating cos that the parcel of low co2 absorbs

• also movement of this low co2 chunk of water

• ultimate control is Air-sea equilibrium