Red Seaweeds

Do environmental properties associated with changing land-ocean connections affect the  quality and quantity of harvested red seaweeds used for personal consumption and trade?

The first Interface of Change research question prioritizes a direct concern by traditional seaweed harvesters who want to know the best time to harvest seaweed, from where, and how harvest will be affected as glacial discharge increases.

Six Univeristy of Alaska faculty (Schery Umanzor, Partick Tomco, LeeAnn Munk, Jordan Jenckes, Jason Fellman, and Eran Hood) will address three hypotheses. Each hypothesis addresses how environmental stressors including turbidity, temperature, salinity, nutrient availability, and herbivory may impact two specific marine red seaweeds that are commonly harvested by communities in southeast Alaska, red ribbon (Devaleraea mollis) and red stiff ribbon (Palmaria hecatensis):

1.) Will environmental changes reduce red seaweed biomass and nutritional quality?

2.) Will environmental changes decrease red seaweed photosynthesis and growth rates?

3.) Will an increase in herbivory degrade the quality and abundance of harvestable red seaweed?