Biodiversity, Neutraceutical and Biofertilizer Characters of Seaweeds of Gulf of Kachchh, India

📖 The Scoop

India has contributed significant diversity in coastal and oceanic ecosystems with a cost line of 7500 km. Gujarat is endowed with the longest (1600 km) shoreline, having diverse seaweed flora compared to other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala of West Coast of India. Among two Gulfs of Gujarat, Gulf of Khambhat contributes large amount of water and sediments, and it consists of seven estuaries, whereas, Gulf of Kutch inputs are very less. On 9 September, 2013, Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) declared India's first marine eco-sensitive zone around Marine National Park in Gulf of Kutch, and confirmed 313 sq. km. around the park as an eco-sensitive zone. In spite of lower inputs, Gulf of Kutch bears good diversity due to different types of habitats like sandy, rocky calcareous seabed and coral beds, seaweeds and mangroves in the relatively sheltered waters of the Gulf. Seaweeds are important living resources of this marine national park. Seaweeds are also known as benthic marine algae, live either in marine or brackish water and contain different photosynthetic pigments. Seaweeds are mostly found in the coastal region between high tide to low tide and in the sub-tidal region where appropriate photosynthetic light is available and utilizing nutrients from seawater and sunlight and synthesize foods. Unlike true plants, seaweeds do not contain root, stem, or leaves; instead, they have thallus that consists of the holdfast, stipe, and blade. Okha Coast (Gulf of Kutch) is rich in seaweed with diversified species. Coral reefs and other rocks provide suitable substrate for the maximized growth of seaweed species in this habitat. The coast is characterized by mixed tides and generally with narrow intertidal regions. Seaweeds are used in many coastal countries, mainly in Asia, Japan, Korea, and China as a source of food, raw material for industries and as fertilizer. The main usages of seaweeds are as foods, feed, cosmetics, fertilizers, bioactive compounds, industrial gums, and chemicals. Some seaweed can be used in controlling goiter disease caused by enlargement of thyroid glands, as they are rich source iodine. Diseases caused by vitamin deficiency such as vitex, asthma, tooth decay etc., may be eliminated using seaweeds in the food. In the present book Biodiversity, Neutraceutical and Biofertilizer Characters of Seaweeds of Gulf of Kachchh, India, authors have employed their painstaking efforts to investigate seasonal seaweed diversity in relation to hydro-geochemical properties of Bet Dwarka, Okha Coast, nutraceutical properties of seaweeds (Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, Rhodophyta), effect of seaweeds extract on seed germination, viability and biochemical composition of Onion, Soyabean and Sesame seeds, seaweeds as biofertilizers in ex-situ experiment on Fenugreek and Spinach seeds, and phylogenetic relationships among seaweed species and genetical identification by DNA bar-coding using tufA gene for green and COI gene for brown and red algae. This book will certainly be helpful to students, researchers, academicians, scientists, and marine authorities of Gujarat and India, to enrich their knowledge in cutting edge of research in the field of marine ecology and biodiversity.

Genre: Science / Life Sciences / Marine Biology (fancy, right?)