UMass Boston

Sustainable Seaweed Aquaculture

Course #: ENVSCI 216, Class #: 7065, Section #: 01

Description

In this sustainable aquaculture course, we will examine the general biology of algae.  Algae is a comprehensive term that includes both microalgae and macroalgae.  The word 'seaweed' is a common term used for marine macroalgae. This course introduces students to the biology of algae (seaweeds) that humans harvest or culture. Algae such as kelp are becoming increasingly important, globally, in aquaculture. Topics include taxonomy, morphology, distribution and habitat, nutrition, significant ecological interactions (such as carbon sequestration), and life cycles. Kelp that exists in the wild and kelp that is cultured have different impacts. The course is organized geographically and by phyla. Topics have been chosen for their biological relevance to aquaculture and algae.