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The influence of nutrient availability, salinity, temperature and the underwater light climate on the growth of seaweed

Kraan, Wouter (2018) The influence of nutrient availability, salinity, temperature and the underwater light climate on the growth of seaweed. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

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Abstract

The goal of this thesis is to analyse the literature on the effects nutrients, salinity, temperature and the underwater light climate (intensity and colouring) on seaweed growth, weight, morphology, metabolism and composition. Nutrients have great impact on seaweed growth and composition. In the literature was found that there is a preference for the form of the nutrient (i.e. NH3, NH4+, NO2−, NO3−) as well as the ratio in which they are available. There is still much research to be done to find the favoured nutrient form as well as the uptake kinetics, N:P ratios and nutrient fluxes seaweeds prefer. The salinity also influences seaweed growth and composition, but this is mostly in extreme environments. The extreme salinity of <5 PSU is not likely to occur in most situations and therefore it should not be a research priority, but optimal salinity can lead to increased growth. The water temperature is of greater concern and is a valid research field because there are certain ranges each seaweed species can endure and optima in which they thrive. The underwater light climate is a highly understudied field because there is no optimal light intensity studied yet, but there is found that a higher light intensity has a positive effect on growth and metabolism but no negative effect on the photosystem. Furthermore, the light colouring is also in the start phase, but it has shown to have effect on growth. In their study was suggested that a ratio between red and blue should be studied in the future. Lastly in the discussion is emphasized that all these abiotic factors need further research and more experimental research is needed to provide information which can be useful in production and models for seaweed cultivation. This way seaweeds become more commercially interesting and matrixes including several species of seaweed can be formed to provide an overview for researchers as well as companies interested in seaweed cultivation.

Item Type: Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name: Timmermans, K.R.
Degree programme: Biology
Thesis type: Bachelor's Thesis
Language: English
Date Deposited: 30 May 2018
Last Modified: 30 May 2018 10:37
URI: https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/17301

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