Charles Yarish

Integrating seaweeds into marine aquaculture systems: a key toward sustainability

The rapid development of intensive fed aquaculture (e.g. finfish and shrimp) throughout the world is associated with concerns about the environmental impacts of such often monospecific practices, especially where activities are highly geographically concentrated or located in suboptimal sites whose assimilative capacity is poorly understood and, consequently, prone to being exceeded. One of the main environmental issues is the direct discharge of significant nutrient loads into coastal waters from open‐water systems and with the effluents from land‐based systems. In its search for best management practices, the aquaculture industry should develop innovative and responsible practices that optimize its efficiency and create diversification, while ensuring the remediation of the consequences of its activities to maintain the health of coastal waters. To avoid pronounced shifts in coastal processes, conversion, not dilution, is a common‐sense solution, used for centuries in Asian countries. By integrating fed aquaculture (finfish, shrimp) with inorganic and organic extractive aquaculture (seaweed and shellfish), the wastes of one resource user become a resource (fertilizer or food) for the others. Such a balanced ecosystem approach provides nutrient bioremediation capability, mutual benefits to the cocultured organisms, economic diversification by producing other value‐added marine crops, and increased profitability per cultivation unit for the aquaculture industry. Moreover, as guidelines and regulations on aquaculture effluents are forthcoming in several countries, using appropriately selected seaweeds as renewable biological nutrient scrubbers represents a cost‐effective means for reaching compliance by reducing the internalization of the total environmental costs. By adopting integrated polytrophic practices, the aquaculture industry should find increasing environmental, economic, and social acceptability and become a full and sustainable partner within the development of integrated coastal management frameworks.

Integrated mariculture: asking the right questions

Reducing negative environmental impacts from aquaculture activities is a key issue for ensuring long-term sustainability of the industry. This study examines the major findings and methodology aspects from 28 peer-reviewed studies on marine aquaculture systems integrating fed and extractive organisms. All studies include seaweeds as extractive organisms. The main objective was to analyse the degree of relevance these findings have for large-scale implementation of integrated mariculture practices, and to identify necessary research areas for a future research agenda.

Developing Porphyra/salmon integrated aquaculture for bioremediation and diversification of the aquaculture industry

For rapid growth and appropriate pigmentation,Porphyra requires the constant availability of nutrients, especially in summer when temperate waters are generally nutrient depleted. Cultivation near salmon cages allows the alleviation of this seasonal depletion by using the significant loading of fishf arms, which is then valued (wastes become fertilisers) and managed (competition for nutrients between desirable algal crops and problem species associated with severe disturbances). Porphyra,being an extremely efficient nutrient pump, is an excellent candidate for integrated aquaculture for bioremediation and economic diversification. Frequent harvesting provides for constant removal of significant quantities of nutrients from coastal waters, and for production of seaweeds of commercial value. The production of P. yezoensis being limited in the Gulf of Maine, an assessment of the potential of seven native north-west Atlantic Porphyra species is presently in progress. To enable the production of conchospores for net seeding, the phenology of these species and the conditions for their vegetative conchocelis exponential growth, conchosporangium induction, and conchospore maturation were determined. The development of integrated aquaculture systems is a positive initiative for optimising the efficiency of aquaculture operations, while maintaining the health of coastal waters.

A reassessment of the taxonomic status of Porphyra suborbiculata, Porphyra carolinensis and Porphyra lilliputiana (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) based on molecular and morphological data

We examined three species of diminutive Porphyra, Porphyra suborbiculata Kjellman from the North Pacific, Porphyra lilliputiana W. A. Nelson, G. A. Knight et M. W. Hawkes from the South Pacific, and Porphyra carolinensis Coll et J. Cox from the western North Atlantic. These taxa were compared in terms of morphology, habitat data and sequence haplotypes of nuclear small subunit rDNA (SSU) and internal transcribed spacers of the nuclear rDNA cistron (ITS). These three species have similar morphologies and growth habits, and share very similar type descriptions and habitat records. Haplotype variation was found within the 11 samples of P. lilliputiana we examined and within P. suborbiculata samples from two locations, but the single P. carolinensis haplotype (from collections from two separate locations) was identical to one found in several widespread P. lilliputiana samples. Unrooted phylogenetic trees based on sequence data do not support any of the three species as being a monophyletic group. We conclude that these three taxa represent a single species with the oldest name P. suborbiculata having nomenclatural priority. It is likely that P. suborbiculata has recently been introduced to the western Atlantic from the Pacific region.

Application of seaweed cultivation to the bioremediation of nutrient-rich effluent

A seaweed biofilter/production system of being developed to reduce the environmental impact of marine fish farm effluent in coastal ecosystems as a part of an integrated aquaculture system. Several known seaweed taxa and their cultivars have been considered as candidate biofilter organisms based on their species-specific physiological properties such as nutrient uptake kinetics and their economic value. Porphyra is an excellent cadidate and shows efficient nutrient extraction properties. Rates of ammonium uptake were maintained at around 3 at 150 inorganic nitrogen at . Ulva is another possible biofilter candidate with an uptake rate of 1.9 under same conditions. A simple uptake/growth and harvest model was applied to estimate the efficiency of the biofilter/production system. The model was deterministic and used a compartment model structure based on difference equations. The efficiency of Porpyra filter was estimated over 17% of removal from the contimuous supply of 100 flow rate.

Identification of north-western Atlantic Porphyra (Bangiaceae, Bangiales) based on sequence variation in nuclear SSU and plastid rbcL genes

Abstract Six species of Porphyra have commonly been recognized in the north-western Atlantic from Long Island Sound to the Canadian Maritimes: P. amplissima, P. leucosticra, P. linearis, P. miniata, P. purpurea, and P. umbilicalis. Distinguishing them with certainty has been problematic. A DNA-based system of molecular identification was developed using partial sequences of the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU) or the plastid ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase–oxygenase large subunit gene (rbcL). Multiple samples of each taxon were surveyed for intraspecific variation. Intraspecific SSU divergences for Porphyra ‘leucosticta’, P. ‘miniata’, P. ‘umbilicalis’, and P. ‘purpurea’ ranged from 0% to 1%. There was more variation for P. ‘amplissima’ (0–2.1%) and P. ‘linearis’ (0–3.5%); however, each taxon was monophyletic. No intraspecific differences were observed for these taxa in rbcL (one to eight samples per taxon). These sequences were compared with P. yezoensis U51, introduced to Maine, and with P. ‘dioica’, a north-east Atlantic Porphyra easily confused with P. ‘purpurea’. To discriminate between P. ‘purpurea’, P. ‘umbilicalis’, and P. ‘leucosticta’, SSU variation was used to design primers for the Allele-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction™. With molecular tools, we could classify over 80% of the monostromatic specimens surveyed, but the residue of unidentifiable specimens may indicate the existence of further monostromatic species in the north-west Atlantic. Porphyra ‘purpurea’ was found to occur further south than previously recorded. A morphologically cryptic Porphyra was discovered at Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada.† Phylogenetic analyses using SSU or rbcL sequences showed ‘soft incongruence’ between gene trees, i.e. the topologies of the phylograms were similar but not identical, with only weak to moderate bootstrap support for the nodes that differed. Both trees strongly supported a clade including P. ‘purpurea’, P. ‘umbilicalis’, P. ‘linearis’, and P. ‘dioica’. Porphyra sp. Herring Cove was allied with the remaining Porphyra taxa in the SSU tree. The rbcL phylogeny was less well resolved, consisting of a polytomy of a P. ‘purpurea’–P. ‘umbilicalis’–P. ‘linearis’–P. ‘dioica’ clade, Porphyra sp. Herring Cove, a clade comprising P. ‘amplissima’ and P. ‘miniata’, and a P. ‘suborbiculata’–P. ‘leucosticta’–P. yezoensis clade.

Mass Production of Marine Macroalgae

Macroscopic marine algae, or seaweeds, form an important living resource of the oceans as primary producers. People have collected seaweeds for food, both for humans and animals. They also have been a source of nutrient-rich fertilizers, as well as a source of gelling agents known as phycocolloids. More recently, macroalgae play significant roles in medicine and biotechnology. Today, seaweed cultivation techniques are standardized, routine, and economical. Several factors, including understanding the environmental regulation of life histories and asexual propagation of thalli, are responsible for the success of large-scale seaweed cultivation. Different taxa require different farming methodologies. During the last 50 years, approximately 100 seaweed taxa have been tested in field farms, but only a dozen are commercially cultivated today. Of these, only five genera (Laminaria, Undaria, Porphyra, Eucheuma/Kappaphycus, and Gracilaria ) represent around 98% of the world’s seaweed production.

Evaluation of the bioremediatory potential of several species of the red alga Porphyra using short-term measurements of nitrogen uptake as a rapid bioassay

Rates of inorganic nitrogen uptake by three Northeast US and three Asian species of Porphyra were compared in short-term incubations to evaluate potential for longer term and larger scale examination of bioremediation of nutrient-loaded effluents from finfish aquaculture facilities. The effects of nitrogen (N) species and concentration, temperature, acclimation history, and irradiance were investigated. Uptake rates increased ca. nine-fold from 20 to 150 μM N. Nitrate and ammonium uptake occurred at similar rates. Irradiance had a strong effect, with uptake at 40 μmol photons m−2 s−1only 55% of uptake at 150 μmol photons m−2 s−1. N-replete tissue took up inorganic nitrogen at rates that averaged only 60% of nutrient-deprived tissue. Although there were species (P. amplissima > (P. purpurea = P. umbilicalis)) and temperature effects (10 °C>5 °C>15 °C), interactions among factors indicated that individual species be considered separately. Overall, P. amplissima was the best Northeast US candidate. It took up ammonium at faster rates than other local species at 10 and 15 °C, two temperatures that fall within the expected range of industrial conditions for finfish operations.

Prospects and challenges for industrial production of seaweed bioactives

Large‐scale seaweed cultivation has been instrumental in globalizing the seaweed industry since the 1950s. The domestication of seaweed cultivars (begun in the 1940s) ended the reliance on natural cycles of raw material availability for some species, with efforts driven by consumer demands that far exceeded the available supplies. Currently, seaweed cultivation is unrivaled in mariculture with 94% of annual seaweed biomass utilized globally being derived from cultivated sources. In the last decade, research has confirmed seaweeds as rich sources of potentially valuable, health‐promoting compounds. Most existing seaweed cultivars and current cultivation techniques have been developed for producing commoditized biomass, and may not necessarily be optimized for the production of valuable bioactive compounds. The future of the seaweed industry will include the development of high value markets for functional foods, cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. Entry into these markets will require a level of standardization, efficacy, and traceability that has not previously been demanded of seaweed products. Both internal concentrations and composition of bioactive compounds can fluctuate seasonally, geographically, bathymetrically, and according to genetic variability even within individual species, especially where life history stages can be important. History shows that successful expansion of seaweed products into new markets requires the cultivation of domesticated seaweed cultivars. Demands of an evolving new industry based upon efficacy and standardization will require the selection of improved cultivars, the domestication of new species, and a refinement of existing cultivation techniques to improve quality control and traceability of products.

Porphyra (Bangiophyceae) Transcriptomes Provide Insights Into Red Algal Development And Metabolism

The red seaweed Porphyra (Bangiophyceae) and related Bangiales have global economic importance. Here, we report the analysis of a comprehensive transcriptome comprising ca. 4.7 million expressed sequence tag (EST) reads from P. umbilicalis (L.) J. Agardh and P. purpurea (Roth) C. Agardh (ca. 980 Mbp of data generated using 454 FLX pyrosequencing). These ESTs were isolated from the haploid gametophyte (blades from both species) and diploid conchocelis stage (from P. purpurea). In a bioinformatic analysis, only 20% of the contigs were found to encode proteins of known biological function. Comparative analysis of predicted protein functions in mesophilic (including Porphyra) and extremophilic red algae suggest that the former has more putative functions related to signaling, membrane transport processes, and establishment of protein complexes. These enhanced functions may reflect general mesophilic adaptations. A near‐complete repertoire of genes encoding histones and ribosomal proteins was identified, with some differentially regulated between the blade and conchocelis stage in P. purpurea. This finding may reflect specific regulatory processes associated with these distinct phases of the life history. Fatty acid desaturation patterns, in combination with gene expression profiles, demonstrate differences from seed plants with respect to the transport of fatty acid/lipid among subcellular compartments and the molecular machinery of lipid assembly. We also recovered a near‐complete gene repertoire for enzymes involved in the formation of sterols and carotenoids, including candidate genes for the biosynthesis of lutein. Our findings provide key insights into the evolution, development, and biology of Porphyra, an important lineage of red algae.