Marine Algae: Seaweed Species, Snacks, and Other Stories

 

Seaweed is both healthy and delicious, for the ocean and us. And yeah...keep reading for more info *1

My uncle used to send over lil care packages of specialty candies and foods, and one of my favorites were the spicy seaweed snacks—butterfly wing-thin, crisp, neat rectangles. Seaweed has long been considered a superfood in my household as it contains fiber, antioxidants, iodine, and a smattering of other minerals and vitamins. Besides the spicy snacks, seaweed can also be served as a spicy salad which more closely resembles the picture above plus some red pepper flakes. A healthy eating tip just for you; look at the things you can learn from my blog! *2

These snacks are typically made out of nori, a type of seaweed that's been around in Japan for centuries. There are over tens of thousands of seaweed species; estimates range from 30,000 to 100,000. This fact is probably more believable considering that seaweed isn't really a plant; it's a macroalgae. But what exactly is algae? What about seaweed? Kelp? Honestly I swear, they all look the same; I'm gonna have to research the hell out of this one. *3 

Algae is the informal name for a group of aquatic plant-like organisms; a main characteristic of algae is its ability to carry out photosynthesis. Although they spend their whole lives underwater, algae produce more oxygen than all other plants combined. This turns out to be around 70% of the Earth's atmospheric oxygen. 

You may have heard of algae blooms, dangerous occurrences when algae grow excessively. Because I think this is one of those facts that we just accept without actually understanding what's so dangerous about it *4, I'm going to do an aside on algae blooms before defining algae itself. 

Algae blooms occur when an access of nutrients, typically nitrates or phosphates, enter a water source. These nutrients cause an overgrowth of algae, which decreases the amount of dissolves oxygen in the water, causing suffocation. If you've never seen an algae bloom, they resemble carpets of toxic green fuzz; and yes, they will smother everything under them. Although algae produces oxygen, algae blooms can suck in vast amounts of oxygen, decreasing dissolved oxygen levels and suffocating wildlife. 

Seaweed, on the other hand, is like the guardian of oceans. There are several types of algae; seaweed is a type of macroalgae. Macroalgae are categorized into four distinct types: blue, red, green, and brown. What's confusing is that some of these groups also happen to be subgroups of algae, which includes about seven*5 different names also taken after colors. I'll stop with the definitions, but there's one more I mentioned earlier. Kelp is a type of brown algae that is often used in savory dishes we can eat. 

Ok, now we know what the differences between seaweed, kelp, and algae are! At this point*6, I'm not even sure where I was going with this comparison, but speaking of comparison, check out my comparison article. Back to seaweed. Ok. As I stated earlier, I think seaweed is like the guardian of oceans. Unlike algae, which has powers of suffocation in its seven arsenals, seaweed has purely 'good' purposes. Its abilities to remove excess nutrients that cause eutrophication, buffer against ocean acidification, reduce coastal erosion, supply energy for food webs, produce oxygen, and provide habitats make seaweed one of the best protectors of the oceans. Not to mention that it's also delicious and healthy for human consumption. 

Seaweed often gets confused with algae (hence, this post), and recently, Florida has been getting 'hit by seaweed storms' as the many new titles have suggested. Sargassum, a brown algae, is smothering beaches across Florida, leaving the Sunshine State a huge problem with not only clean up but also disposal. Here's the thing, Sargassum is also a seaweed. I guess not all seaweed is good? Let's take a closer look.

"The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt" is a brown algae bloom that essentially floats in the ocean. And in the ocean, this algae blooms is great; it provides a multitude of services for aqautic ecosystems. However, when this belt reaches beaches, it can damage coastal ecosystems and human health. 

But there may be a plan to give Sargassum on land a 'good' purpose. Sargassum has been used for fertilizers, biofuel production, and other purposes beneficial to humans. Instead of piling onto our huge waste disposal problem, scientists have been able to find a way to turn this seaweed problem into a solution - a solution that could potentially help solve our energy crises. 

The takeaway? Seaweed is our savior. JK. But maybe science will be. 

footnotes

*1 - do you know how hard it is coming up with quirky, interesting intros? i do not think so

*2 - does this mean emma's earth explorations can officially be considered as a healthy lifestyle blog now? 

*3 - see you in a couple hours after I scour the internet for info. this is like deja vu from figuring out dolphins, whales, and cetaceans; btw you should go read that post

*4 - EX: GMOS. let me ask you, do you know what GMOS even are? what do the letters stand for? 

*5 - i say 'about seven' because there isn't really a hard definition to what algae is; it basically encompasses a very large group of photosynthetic organisms. 

*6 - about a month after i started this post...

https://www.toppr.com/guides/evs/a-treat-for-mosquito/algae/#:~:text=Algae%20are%20the%20most%20important%20photosynthesizing

https://atlas-scientific.com/blog/does-algae-produce-oxygen/#:~:text=How%20Much%20Oxygen%20Does%20Algae%20Produce%3F%20Oxygen%20levels,algae%20produce%20around%2070%25%20of%20all%20atmospheric%20oxygen.

https://www.thoughtco.com/types-of-marine-algae-2291975

https://www.opb.org/article/2023/05/05/giant-blobs-of-seaweed-are-hitting-florida-that-s-when-the-real-problem-begins/