Lessonia is a genus of large kelp native to the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the only kelp to be restricted to the southern hemisphere and is primarily distributed along the coasts of South America, New Zealand, Tasmania, and the Antarctic islands.[1][2] Lessonia is one of two principal genera in kelp forests (the other is Macrocystis).
| Lessonia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Lessonia brevifolia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Gyrista |
| Subphylum: | Ochrophytina |
| Class: | Phaeophyceae |
| Order: | Laminariales |
| Family: | Lessoniaceae |
| Genus: | Lessonia Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1825 |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
In Chile, the preservation of Lessonia kelp is an important to help preserve the biodiversity that exists on rocky shores.[3] By studying the harvesting of these wild populations of Lessonia kelp marine biologists are able to analyze the effects of this activity on wildlife.[3] Some species are of economic importance, such as Lessonia nigrescens, which is harvested for alginate.[4]
They use a variety of chemical defenses and are somewhat resistant to algivory.[5] The zoospores are known to produce sporophytes even when ingested by fish.[6]
The conservation status of the genus has not been extensively researched. Only two species of Lessonia, L. oreas and L. rufa, have been assessed by the IUCN. Both of which have been marked “least concern.”[7]
Taxonomy
editThe genus was first described by Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent in 1825.[8] The genus name of Lessonia is in honour of René Primevère Lesson (1794–1849), who was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist.[9] The holotype for this genus is L. flavicans.[10] Recent studies have provided evidence of cryptic speciation within Lessonia including L. nigrescens in Chile[11] and L. variegata in New Zealand.[12] Lessonia is the type genus for the Lessoniaceae family.[13]
Species of Lessonia have been conflated and combined, over time, including by Bory himself, who described L. flavicans once by that name, and once by the name of L. fusceseens.[14] The former species L. laminarioides was moved to a new but related genus in 2006, Psuedolessonia.[1] Another species, L. vadosa, was proposed, but incorporated into L. flavicans. [14][15] Other species proposed for this genus have been incorporated into Ascoseira, Himantothallus, Myriodesma, and Laminaria.[15]
Three species, L. media, L. meridionalis, and L. septentrionalis, were accepted in 2024.[13]
Chimerism
editSeveral species of Lessonia are known to experience chimerism, which is when two distinct organisms fuse together to generate a new organism. Organisms that undergo chimerism will have several genomes in one body. The benefits to chimerism include an increase in body size and genetic diversity, increasing survival rates. The main cost to this would be the chance of competition between genomes.[16]
L. berteroana and L. spicata are both known to undergo chimerism.
Only the holdfast experienced genetic mixing, with the stipes each remaining genetically homogenous.[16]
Morphology
editSpecies of Lessonia are very difficult to identify based on morphological characteristics, as the kelp are very plastic. The blades may be flat and elongated, broad, or narrow, with a smooth, ruguse, or wavy surface and can have smooth or jagged edges. A big factor in the morphology is the wave exposure, as Lessonia is found across a verity of habitats.[6]
Harvesting
editChile
editChile is the world’s largest producer of wild-harvested algae, with Lessonia from Chile making up 29% of global exports.[17]
Chile produces over 300,000 dry tons of seaweed per year, with more than 11,000 people are employed in the industry, and almost all of it Lessonia. Almost all seaweed harvesting happens in the desert reason of Chile (18 to 32 degrees), as the climate is more suitable for drying.
Commercial brown seaweed landings started in the 1960s in Chile, but they are only included in national statistics since the 1980s. Since 2000, kelp harvesting has increased, due to an increased market demand and a decrease in the value of copper, which is the resource that makes up 60% of the Chilean GDP. In 2005, a fishing ban was enacted between 18 and 26 degrees due to concerns about over harvesting, although some studies have indicated that there are no substantial differences between the harvested and unharvested populations. L. nigresscens landings increased between 2005 and 2010, but the algal population remained strong.[18]
The Chilean seaweed corporate industry are not allowed to harvest seaweed themselves. Instead, they must purchase biomass from artisanal fishers. This means that seaweed regulations are regulated by a combination of fishers, industry, authorities, and scientists.
The other main algae harvested in Chile, L. trabeculata, is harvested by semi-autonomous divers who do not follow harvesting recommendations, causing the population to suffer.[18]
Elsewhere
editDespite New Zealand being home to six species of Lessonia, the most of any country, Lessonia harvesting is almost nonexistent. Algal cultivation has been studied in New Zealand, but rarely implemented. [19]
Several Lessonia species grow in Argentina, but the situation is similar there, with very little algae cultivation or harvesting. Part of this may be due to very little public knowledge about the option.[20]
Extensive commercial seaweed farming is done in Australia, but mostly using Asparagopsis species.[21]
Tasmania cultivated a wide variety of algae, including L. corrugata (referred to as Tasmanian Kombu). This is done with both long-line and land-based aquaculture. [22]
Peru harvests L. trabeculata, which it esports to china for processing. [23]
Species
editReferences
edit
- ^ a b Cho, G. Y.; Klochkova, N. G.; Krupnova, T. N.; Boo, S. M. (2006). "The reclassification of Lessonia laminarioides (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae): Pseudolessonia gen. nov. 1" (PDF). Journal of Phycology. 42 (6): 1289–1299. Bibcode:2006JPcgy..42.1289C. doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2006.00280.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ Nelson, W. A. (2013). New Zealand seaweeds : an illustrated guide. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. p. 98. ISBN 9780987668813. OCLC 841897290.
- ^ a b Orostica, M. H.; Aguilera, M. A.; Donoso, G. A.; Vásquez, J. A.; Broitman, B. R. (2014). "Effect of grazing on distribution and recovery of harvested stands of Lessonia berteroana kelp in northern Chile". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 511: 71–82. Bibcode:2014MEPS..511...71O. doi:10.3354/meps10931. hdl:10533/137292.
- ^ Venegas, M.; Tala, F.; Fonck, E.; Vásquez, J. (January 1992). "Sporangial sori on stipes of Lessonia nigrescens Bory (Laminariales, Phaeophyta): A high frequency phenomenon in intertidal populations of northern Chile". Botanica Marina. 35 (6): 573–578. doi:10.1515/botm.1992.35.6.573.
- ^ Ritter, Andrés (March 2, 2017). "Herbivore-induced chemical and molecular responses of the kelps Laminaria digitata and Lessonia spicata". PLOS ONE. 12 (3): e0173315. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0173315. PMID 28253346.
- ^ a b Nardelli, Allyson; Visch, Wouter; Wright, Jeffrey; Hurd, Catriona (April 15, 2023). "Concise review of genus Lessonia Bory" (PDF). Journal of Applied Phycology. 35 (4): 1485–1498. Bibcode:2023JAPco..35.1485N. doi:10.1007/s10811-023-02968-3.
- ^ IUCN (2024). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Searles, R. B. (1978-01-01). "The genus Lessonia Bory (Phaeophyta, Laminariales) in Southern Chile and Argentina". British Phycological Journal. 13 (4): 361–381. doi:10.1080/00071617800650421.
- ^ Burkhardt, Lotte (2022). Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen [Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names] (pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2022. ISBN 978-3-946292-41-8. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 25 November 2021. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 19 September 2024
- ^ Tellier, Florence; Tapia, Javier; Faugeron, Sylvain; Destombe, Christophe; Valero, Myriam (August 2011). "The Lessonia nigrescens species Complex (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) Shows Strict Parapatry and Complete Reproductive Isolation in a Secondary Contact Zone1: Reproductive Isolation Between Kelp Species". Journal of Phycology. 47 (4): 894–903. doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2011.01019.x. PMID 27020024.
- ^ Zuccarello, Giuseppe C.; Martin, Peter; Zuccarello, Giuseppe C.; Martin, Peter (2016-06-03). "Phylogeography of the Lessonia variegata species complex (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) in New Zealand". Algae. 31 (2): 91–103. doi:10.4490/algae.2016.31.4.15. ISSN 1226-2617.
- ^ a b Zuccarello, Giuseppe (January 9, 2024). "Three new species of Lessonia Bory (Lessoniaceae, Phaeophyceae) from New Zealand: L. media sp. nov., L. meridionalis sp. nov. and L. septentrionalis sp. nov" (PDF). Notulae Algarum.
- ^ a b Searles, R.B. (1978). "The genus Lessonia Bory (Phaeophyta, Laminariales) in Southern Chile and Argentina". British Phycological Journal. 13 (4): 361–381. doi:10.1080/00071617800650421.
- ^ a b WoRMS Editorial Board (2024). "Lessonia Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1825". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Gonzalez, Alejandra and Bernabé Santelices (February 24, 2017). "Frequency of chimerism in populations of the kelp Lessonia spicata in central Chile". PLOS ONE. 12 (2): e0169182. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1269182G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169182. PMC 5325190. PMID 28234957.
- ^ Ferdouse, Fatima; Holdt, Susan; Smith, Rohan; Murúa, Pedro; Yang, Zhengyong (2018). "The global status of seaweed production, trade and utilization". Globefish Research Programme. 124.
- ^ a b Vásquez, Julio; Piaget, Nicole; Vega, J. M. (February 3, 2012). "The Lessonia nigrescens fishery in northern Chile: "how you harvest is more important than how much you harvest"". Journal of Applied Phycology. 24 (3): 417. Bibcode:2012JAPco..24..417V. doi:10.1007/s10811-012-9794-4.
- ^ Stenton-Dozey, Jeanie; Heath, Philip; Ren, Jeffrey; Zamora, Leo (May 3, 2020). "New Zealand aquaculture industry: research, opportunities and constraints for integrative multitrophic farming". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 55 (2): 265. Bibcode:2021NZJMF..55..265S. doi:10.1080/00288330.2020.1752266.
- ^ Raffo, María; Dellatorrea, Fernando; Cianciac, Marina (April 19, 2022). "Seaweed resources of Argentina (S W Atlantic): production, bio-ecological, applied research and challenges for sustainable developmen". Journal of Applied Phycology. 3 (1): 383–421. Bibcode:2022APcgy...3..383R. doi:10.1080/26388081.2022.2076260.
- ^ "Seaweed Aquaculture in Australia". FRDC. December 9, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ "Seaweed Farming in Tasmania". Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ Santos, Geraldine (November 12, 2024). "Peruvian fishers help red sea urchins recover from overfishing". Mongabay. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
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