THE USE OF GRACILARIA-TIKVAHIAE (GRACILARIALES, RHODOPHYTA) AS A MODEL SYSTEM TO UNDERSTAND THE NITROGEN NUTRITION OF CULTURED SEAWEEDS

Seaweeds have physiological mechanisms to acquire, utilize, and store various forms of nitrogen in environments where nitrogen levels vary tremendously in space and time. Knowledge of the nitrogen relationships of seaweeds is required for the development of successful seaweed mariculture. For example, it would seem at first that continuous nitrogen enrichment would be desirable in such systems because maximal seaweed yields are possible only when growth is not nitrogen-limited. Yet such fertilization is wasteful and can result in yield reductions due to the enhancement of epiphyte growth. Because most seaweeds can rapidly taken up high concentrations of nitrogen, far in excess of what is required for current growth demands, enrichments are needed only when internal nitrogen concentrations fall to near the critical level (i.e., the minimal tissue concentration of nitrogen required for maximal growth). Nutrients are best applied at brief pulses of high nitrogen concentrations. © 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers.