front cover of Seaweeds
Seaweeds
Edible, Available, and Sustainable
Ole G. Mouritsen
University of Chicago Press, 2013
Until recently, seaweed for most Americans was nothing but a nuisance, clinging to us as we swim in the ocean and stinking up the beach as it rots in the sun. With the ever-growing popularity of sushi restaurants across the country, however, seaweed is becoming a substantial part of our total food intake. And even as we dine with delight on maki, miso soup, and seaweed salads, very few of us have any idea of the nutritional value of seaweed. Here celebrated scientist Ole G. Mouritsen, drawing on his fascination with and enthusiasm for Japanese cuisine, champions seaweed as a staple food while simultaneously explaining its biology, ecology, cultural history, and gastronomy.
           
Mouritsen takes readers on a comprehensive tour of seaweed, describing what seaweeds actually are (algae, not plants) and how people of different cultures have utilized them since prehistoric times for a whole array of purposes—as food and fodder, for the production of salt, in medicine and cosmetics, as fertilizer, in construction, and for a number of industrial end uses, to name just a few. He reveals the vast abundance of minerals, trace elements, proteins, vitamins, dietary fiber, and precious polyunsaturated fatty acids found in seaweeds, and provides instructions and recipes on how to prepare a variety of dishes that incorporate raw and processed seaweeds. Approaching the subject from not only a gastronomic but also a scientific point of view, Mouritsen sets out to examine the past and present uses of this sustainable resource, keeping in mind how it could be exploited for the future. Because seaweeds can be cultivated in large quantities in the ocean in highly sustainable ways, they are ideal for battling hunger and obesity alike.  
           
With hundreds of delectable illustrations depicting the wealth of species, colors, and shapes of seaweed, Seaweeds: Edible, Available, and Sustainable makes a strong case for granting these “vegetables from the sea” a prominent place in our kitchens.
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front cover of Seaweeds of the Northwest Atlantic
Seaweeds of the Northwest Atlantic
Arthur C. Mathieson
University of Massachusetts Press, 2017
In this book, Arthur C. Mathieson and Clinton J. Dawes offer a complete and current treatment of the seaweeds of the Northwest Atlantic, including taxonomic descriptions, keys, and 108 plates of detailed line drawings of this rich assemblage of marine algal species found between the Canadian Arctic and Maryland. It is designed to serve as an up-to-date reference work, classroom text, and field manual for botanists, marine biologists, naturalists, and students learning about the highly diverse marine algal flora of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.

The introductory chapter provides a historical review of seaweed studies as well as a description of 15 geographical sites designated in the text. Three chapters on the green, brown, and red alga include more than 256 genera, 510 species, 10 subspecies, 21 varieties, and 14 forms. New taxonomic combinations and descriptions of several previously undescribed taxa are also included in the text. The modern classification reviews molecular as well as reproductive, morphological, and biological data. The work represents more than forty years of research on Northwest Atlantic seaweeds and will aid researchers throughout the Northeast and Southwest Atlantic coasts. The authors detail the taxonomy, morphology, cytology, and name derivation of various taxonomic entities, as well as the ecology and distribution patterns of over 555 taxa. The text includes keys to genera and species, a glossary, and sources of further information.
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front cover of Seaweeds of the Southeastern United States
Seaweeds of the Southeastern United States
Cape Hatteras to Cape Canaveral
Craig W. Schneider and Richard B. Searles
Duke University Press, 1991
Seaweeds of the Southeastern United States offers a definitive manual for the identification of the seaweeds that inhabit the deep offshore waters as well as the near shoreline and shallow sounds from North Carolina to Florida. The volume provides a natural key to the class, order, family, and genera with detailed descriptions, 560 illustrations, and an artificial key listing simple characteristics for quick identification of the green, brown, and red benthic marine algae (or “bottom growers”) that inhabit the region.
The southeastern Atlantic coast is home to 334 species of seaweed flora. The greatest diversity occurs along the North Carolina coast between Cape Lookout and Cape Fear. With the exception of a few additional species south of Cape Fear, there is not a marked change in the flora until the more tropical waters and seaweeds of southern Florida. The barrier island system of the region and the enclosed shallow water sounds extend the miles of shoreline available for study.
This book, the product of a twenty-year collaboration, is the first comprehensive guide to appear in over seventy years and includes the addition of nearly one hundred species to the region, including twenty-five described by the authors.
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