Experts from the National Marine Biology Scientific Center named after AV. Zhirmunsky FEB RAS discovered four new species of edible algae in the Sea of Okhotsk and in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. This was reported to socialbites.ca by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.
All of them belong to the genus Devalerea (Family Palmamariaceae). This is a small group of red algae that are a promising source of biologically active substances and lectin, a substance used in the diagnosis of a number of diseases. They are used as human food and also as food for the abalone mollusk (Abalone). For these purposes, palmarian algae are collected from natural thickets and grown on aquaculture farms.
“We have identified four species of the genus Devaleraea that are new to science. This is important because accurate data on species composition are required to understand flora formation pathways and the resilience of coastal communities to the effects of adverse environmental factors,” Anna Skriptsova, Senior Researcher, Head of the Autotrophic Organisms Laboratory, NSCMB FEB RAS told socialbites.ca.
The study of the species composition of algae is important for the implementation of the main task of biology – the inventory of the species composition of algae living in the water area of the country and throughout the World Ocean.
By describing the specimens in detail, the scientists revised their ideas about their distribution, ecological preferences, and temperature requirements for growth and reproduction. In addition, the researchers obtained a significant amount of data on the nucleotide sequences of certain DNA regions living off the coast of Devaleraea in Russia. This will allow accurate identification of the identified species, not only by taxonomists, but also by other researchers, using genetic data, for example, by those involved in research into the functioning and dynamics of seashore communities. Such information is important for understanding the contribution of palmarian algae to processes occurring in temperate aquatic ecosystems.