Maeve Edwards

• PhD
• Co-owner & Director at Irish Seaweed Consultancy Ltd

The rhodophyte Palmaria palmata (L.) Weber & Mohr is one of the target species of a growing European seaweed industry due to its high content of protein and essential amino acids which makes it suitable for human food, dietary supplements, and as salmon feed. However, the lack of a published nuclear genome limits phylogenetics analyses and gene fun...

The impact of different light conditions during culture on the nitrogen, protein, colour, total phenolic content (TPC) and amino acid profile of Palmaria palmata biomass was investigated. P. palmata was cultured using different light regimes, i.e., white (1 and 2), red, blue and green over 12 days. A significant decrease (p < 0.05) in total nitroge...

The impact of growth conditions on the nitrogen, protein, colour and amino acid profiles of Palmaria palmata (from 2 locations) were investigated. Laboratory cultures of P. palmata were grown over a period of 18 days with and without nutrient addition, i.e., with culture medium (F/2) and urea (0.05 or 0.10 g L⁻¹). The total nitrogen (TN) content of...

Seaweed aquaculture is still in the early stages of development in the Atlantic Area (AA) and is represented by only a few species of the many hundreds of species to be found around the varied coastline of Europe. This fact sheet includes the green and brown seaweeds cultured in the AA, and identifies cultivation experience as scientific and/or com...

Seaweed aquaculture is still in the early stages of development in the Atlantic Area (AA) and is represented by only a few species of the many hundreds of species to be found around the varied coastline of Europe. This fact sheet includes the red seaweeds cultured in the AA, and identifies cultivation experience as scientific and/or commercial. Eac...

The red seaweed Agarophyton vermiculophyllum is an invasive species native to the north-west Pacific, which has proliferated in temperate estuaries of Europe, North America and Africa. Combining molecular identification tools, historical satellite imagery and one-year seasonal monitoring of biomass and environmental conditions, the presence of A. v...

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) systems are a circular economy paradigm that contribute towards making aquaculture more sustainable and competitive. However, despite being encouraged by European Union (EU) policies such as the Blue Growth Strategy, the Atlantic Action Plan and RIS3, there are socio-economic, administrative and regulator...

http://www.epa.ie/researchandeducation/research/researchpublications/researchreports/research285.html

The continued development of the aquaculture industry is contributing to the proliferation of artificial structures in the marine environment. Observations of seaweed farms (infrastructure and biomass) suggest they act as a habitat for associated species. Seaweed farms differ from other forms of artificial infrastructure as the material deployed al...

This poster examines the effects of using different quadrat sizes to assess the spatial distribution of the green macroalgae Ulva in an Irish estuary. This work is part of the ongoing SeaMAT research project in the National University of Ireland, Galway.

The kelp Laminaria digitata (Hudson) J.V. Lamouroux (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) is currently cultivated on a small-scale in several north Atlantic countries, with much potential for expansion. The initial stages of kelp cultivation follow one of two methods: either maximising (gametophyte method) or minimising (direct method) the vegetative growth...

The Ecological Status of subtidal benthic communities within a commercial kelp farm on the southwest coast of Ireland was not impacted by macroalgal cultivation. Additionally, there was no effect on the biomass of Zostera marina, a key habitat under the EU Habitats Directive and OSPAR Commission. However, sediment grain size and total organic matte...

There has been an increase in commercial-scale kelp cultivation in Europe, with fouling of cultivated kelp fronds presenting a major challenge to the growth and development of the industry. The presence of epibionts decreases productivity and impacts the commercial value of the crop. Several abiotic and biotic factors may influence the occurrence a...

Interest in the cultivation of native kelp species is increasing within Europe. Observations of seaweed farms suggest that they may act as a habitat for associated species, potentially altering the richness of the local area. Previous studies have generally focused on species associated with wild kelps, showing the holdfast to be relatively species...

Seaweeds are receiving increasing attention as third generation biofuels, which do not compete for land or freshwater with agricultural crops and have a high polysaccharide content. Seaweed growth is dependent on the presence of suitable physical and chemical conditions. The selection of cultivation sites with suitable characteristics is therefore...

Report produced for the BIM 'Aquacutlure Explained' series through the 'Seaweed Hatchery' Project (2008-2011).

Large-scale seaweed cultivation has been instrumental in globalizing the seaweed industry since the 1950s. The domestication of seaweed cultivars (begun in the 1940s) ended the reliance on natural cycles of raw material availability for some species, with efforts driven by consumer demands that far exceeded the available supplies. Currently, seawee...

Keywords: Exergetic Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) Resource footprint North West Europe (NWE) Seaweed Sea surface occupation Environmental concerns regarding natural resource depletion have led to the cultivation of more renewable resources such as seaweed biomass. As the cultivation in Europe is still in its early stages, an estimation of the enviro...

This paper compares the biofilter capacity and cost-effectiveness of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and seaweed for use in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) based on experiences in Ireland and Denmark. This comparison shows that weight for weight, mussels are a better biofilter than seaweed with regard to the amount of nitrogen assimilated...

Cultivation of Palmaria palmata was performed by a technique introduced in this paper of tetraspore release and attachment to culture string. Optimal conditions for laboratory growth were investigated with respect to irradiance and nutrient media. The length of laboratory culture required for the growth and development of attached sporelings was al...

A short questionnaire was devised during the 4th ISAP Conference in Halifax (2011) to gather some information on the algal eating habits of the participants. Responses were also collected from random members of the general public in Galway and Copenhagen. Most phycologists had eaten algae before (93%), but few conference participants ate it more re...

Data from a hierarchical study of four Zostera marina beds in Wales were used to identify the spatial scales of variation in epiphyte assemblages. There were significant within and among bed differences in assemblage structure. The differences in assemblage structure with spatial scale generally persisted when species identifications were aggregate...